My concern being is, are you fully staffed in all those vet centers with the appropriate personnel?

we are not meeting our own standards, and we need to continue to strive to do that and then we will set higher ones.

let's get Secretary Shinseki and Secretary Panetta here before this committee so we can start working towards one single understanding

We have to change the way we think about outreach to veterans.

If we don't know the entirety of the problem, how could we ever hope to solve it?

Today's hearing on suicide really couldn't have come at a more critical time.

Is there anything that you think we should be doing specifically, or advice you would have for the VA?

The Military Office Association of America recommended that it require the VA and the DoD to establish a single strategy in a joint suicide prevention office that reports directly to the Department secretaries through a senior oversight…

But we did get the 2009 data very recently from the CDC, and have looked at that data, balanced it up against veterans who get care within the VA system and we are very encouraged by what we are seeing in 2009.

Fighting suicide is not just about preventing the act of suicide. It is about providing a soft and productive landing for veterans when they return home.

While I commend the VA's effort to reduce the suicide rate, particularly with the success of its veterans crisis hotline, challenges still remain.