Charles Skelton: “Mr. Chairman, Sergeant Jonathan Schulze was an Iraq war veteran who committed suicide after being denied care to address…”

“Mr. Chairman, Sergeant Jonathan Schulze was an Iraq war veteran who committed suicide after being denied care to address his PTSD symptoms. According to the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, today, among veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of suicides may exceed the number who have been killed in combat. This is a broken promise, Mr. Chairman. After asking our soldiers to sacrifice so much, we must ensure they get the care they deserve. I was proud to work with Chairman Skelton on the DeLauro-Courtney amendment to direct the Secretary of Defense to conduct a demonstration project to assess the feasibility and the efficacy of providing face-to-face postdeployment mental health screening between members of the Armed Forces and a mental health provider. The 2-year project will include a combat stress evaluation conducted by a qualified mental health professional 120 to 180 days of the date the soldier returns. And a case manager will follow up by phone over the course of another 2 years. We have no excuse for failing the soldiers who have given this Nation everything. I urge adoption of this amendment.”