Bill Text: NJ SJR85 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges Congress to restore funding to Vets4Warriors veteran suicide hotline.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-11 - Substituted by AJR117 [SJR85 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-SJR85-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JAMES BEACH
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Urges Congress to restore funding to Vets4Warriors veteran suicide hotline.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Joint Resolution urging Congress to restore funding to the Vets4Warriors veteran suicide hotline.
Whereas, New Jersey is grateful for the many men and women who have made the sacrifices required of military service for their nation and this State; and
Whereas, In a report released in February 2013 by the Department of Veterans Affairs, a staggering 22 veterans take their own lives every day; and
Whereas, Vets4Warriors, a program operated by Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care in Piscataway, provides a 24-hour hotline in which veterans answer telephone calls from other veterans and servicemembers struggling with depression or other emotional or psychological issues; and
Whereas, Since December 2011, Vets4Warriors has had contact with 130,000 veterans or their family members; and
Whereas, Veterans with Vets4Warriors answer about 500 telephone calls daily, of which nearly 200 involve callers who are at risk for suicide; and
Whereas, The Department of Defense, without public notice, has recently decided to terminate funding for this New Jersey veterans' suicide prevention hotline effective this August 15, 2015; and
Whereas, Though the department intends to instead provide these services through its own Military OneSource, decreasing the options available to our servicemembers struggling with mental health concerns is irresponsible and a shirking of our responsibility to servicemembers and their families; and
Whereas, A bipartisan group of six New Jersey federal lawmakers wrote to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, stating they could not understand the reason for the decision and asked for reconsideration thereof; and
Whereas, This State joins those lawmakers in requesting that the Department of Defense provide an explanation and analysis of its decision to suspend funding for the Vets4Warriors program and strongly urges the department to reconsider this decision or provide a public process to determine the effectiveness of the program prior to closure; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. New Jersey urges Congress to restore funding to Vets4Warriors veteran suicide hotline.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the State to the President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress elected thereto from New Jersey.
3. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This joint resolution urges Congress to restore funding to Vets4Warriors veteran suicide hotline.
New Jersey is grateful for the many men and women who have made the sacrifices required of military service for their nation and this State. In a report released in February 2013 by the Department of Veterans Affairs, a staggering 22 veterans take their own lives every day. Vets4Warriors, a program operated by Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care in Piscataway, provides a 24-hour hotline in which veterans answer telephone calls from other veterans and servicemembers struggling with depression or other emotional or psychological issues. Since December 2011, Vets4Warriors has had contact with 130,000 veterans or their family members. Moreover, veterans with Vets4Warriors answer about 500 telephone calls daily, of which nearly 200 involve callers who are at risk for suicide.
The Department of Defense, without public notice, has recently decided to terminate funding for this New Jersey veterans' suicide prevention hotline effective this August 15, 2015. Though the department intends to instead provide these services through its own Military OneSource, decreasing the options available to our servicemembers struggling with mental health concerns is irresponsible and a shirking of our responsibility to servicemembers and their families. A bipartisan group of six New Jersey federal lawmakers wrote to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, stating they could not understand the reason for the decision and asked for reconsideration thereof. This State joins those lawmakers in requesting that the Department of Defense provide an explanation and analysis of its decision to suspend funding for the Vets4Warriors program and strongly urges the department to reconsider this decision or provide a public process to determine the effectiveness of the program prior to closure.
