(Long Island, NY) Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, released the following statement after a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General report found that in 2014 over 20 crisis calls to the Veterans Crisis Line operated by VA were transferred to a voicemail system and the calls were never returned:
“Recent reports from the VA Office of Inspector General (IG) show that suffering veterans who are contacting the suicide hotline at the VA are not only being sent to voicemail, but some never even receive a call back. This is gross incompetence, completely unacceptable and in need of an urgent and immediate correction. The latest IG report is just further evidence of the failures of our VA system, which has included overmedicating patients, secret wait lists, and backlogs of disability claims and appeals. Even more egregious are reports of insufficient staffing numbers for patient advocate offices which serve veterans seeking mental health counseling. When a veteran reaches out for help, there is no reason whatsoever that the veteran should not at least receive a call back. With tens of billions of dollars spent each year on veteran healthcare, if a veteran is in crisis and is reaching out for help, there is no justifiable reason why the VA cannot afford to have a dedicated staff member present to answer calls for veterans in crisis. This is inexcusable. We must continue to reform our VA system to ensure each and every veteran is receiving the care they desperately need and deserve. I will never stop fighting to protect and support our military heroes; our veterans deserve the highest quality of care at our VA facilities.”
