U.S. Rep. David Young (R-IA) and U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) expressed concern on Wednesday following a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that found that 30 percent of text messages sent to the Veterans Crisis Line went unanswered.
“The GAO’s report is incredibly concerning because the Veterans Crisis Line is no place for error,” Ernst said. “In February, I sent VA Secretary McDonald a letter expressing my outrage over the VA inspector general’s report that 23 veterans who contacted the VCL were transferred to a voicemail system and were never called back. The GAO report released just this week stated that four out of 14 text messages went unanswered. We absolutely cannot tolerate these failures when lives are on the line.
“While the VA might point to some improvements, the VCL still fails to meet response time goals and must be held accountable…The VA must immediately correct these shortcomings outlined in the GAO report and performance standards. Our veterans deserve much, much better.”
Young introduced the No Veterans Crisis Line Calls Should Go Unanswered Act, H.R.5392, earlier this month in response to concerns from veterans about unanswered calls, emails and texts to the Veterans Crisis Line.
“Our veterans deserve quality mental health care resources, yet this recent report further highlights unacceptable problems with the Veterans Crisis Line,” Young said. “I’ve heard from Iowa veterans concerned about the Veterans Crisis Line — enough is enough — the VA must improve the responsiveness and performance of this hotline immediately. Our veterans must have access to the best mental health care resources possible.”
Young’s bill would establish a quality assurance process with performance indicators and objectives that address responsiveness issues with the Veterans Crisis Line that have been cited by veterans and a recent Government Accountability Office report.
The measure would also require a plan to ensure that a real person answers all communication to the Veterans Crisis Line or backup call center in accordance with the standards of the American Association of Suicidology.
Additionally, the bill would require that a plan be submitted to Veterans’ Affairs committees in both the House of Representatives and the Senate within 180 days of the bill being signed into law.