Pass Takano's HR 3495 The Improve Well-Being for Veterans Act –

Build a Robust VA!

Dear U.S. Rep. Mark Takano, Chair, House Veterans Affairs Committee, All House members and U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives

HR 3495, the IMPROVE Well-Being for Veterans Act, as originally written would have further PRIVATIZED the VA healthcare system.

We greatly appreciate everyone's efforts to draft a substitute amendment to replace the original bill. Rep. Takano's substitute amendment will help build a more robust VA which the 7.3 million veterans using the VA badly need and want!

We are very pleased the original HR 3495 has now been replaced by the Takano substitute HR 3495 by the House VA Committee and reported out to the full House.

During the last 19 years America has seen approximately 700,000 civilian suicides and over 118,000 military/veterans suicides. Each suicide is a disaster for a family and community. For our military members and veterans we have seen more suicides in 19 years than the 7,000 military members killed in the Middle East wars on terror during those same years.

We are veterans and citizens very concerned with the SUICIDE CRISIS in our communities.

With regard to military and veterans suicides, we urge you to strongly consider doing the following:

• On the House floor PASS the Takano HR 3495. If the Senate passes a different version of the bill, then in the Conference Committee fight hard to keep the Takano bill intact and reported out. Then get Takano's bill passed by the Congress;
• Legislatively force the VA to fill the 50,000 vacancies, mostly in VA healthcare, within a deadline;
• Fully staff VA mental healthcare clinics across the nation;
• Fund more mobile VA clinics and tele-medicine capabilities for physical and mental healthcare to operate in rural areas and large urban areas;
• Hire and train thousands of disabled vets to contact all of America’s vets who do not use the VA and help them start getting VA care if needed;

Thank you for your service to our Nation!

Peace!

Buzz Davis, Tucson, AZ, Veterans for Peace (VFP), U.S. Army, 1Lt, infantry, communications, intelligence & security, 1967-70 S. Korea

Bill Christofferson, Milw., WI, VFP, USMC, combat correspondent 1965-68, 17 mo. Vietnam

Robert Suberi, St. Louis, MO, VFP, US Army, 1968-71 2.5 yrs. Vietnam

Arlys Herem, MN, VFP, US Army Nurse Corps, 1966-75, Walter Reed Institute of Nursing, Ft Knox, Ky, Viet Nam, Presidio of SF, CA

Robert Anderson, PhD, NM, VFP, U.S. Air Force, EOD to Vietnam, with Air America, during Tet in Laos, Thailand & Vietnam 1964-68