JOE M~NCHIN Ill ... " ·.1 ""1 r ." ' T If " I' ' ·'PPPC" PP.l;.TIO'IJS I - E I ~HMf: O tiER'. ICES ~ ,. :: " " ' I! 1 ~r l~ Hli r M~D 111.:1 Tl'HAL Hf:::>1J UHC::::. '. ' " " " " . H :..v " United ,States ScnJtr \.ETERAN:O' Ml, IH~ .~. ASH ~ ' ( J' 2'.J" II J, J May 7. 2019 269 The Honorable Ajit Pai The Honorable Robert Wilkie Chairman Secretary Federal Communications Commission Department of Veterans Affairs 1 445 12 h Street, SW 810 Vermont Avenue. NW Washington, D.C 20554 Washington, DC 20240 Dear Chairman Pai and Secretary Wilkie. On average. one West Virginian dies by suicide eYcl)' 24 hours. In a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). the Mountain State has expt:ricnccd a 3 7% increase in suicide deaths since 1999, and there is no group more impacted than military Veterans. It is our duty to honor their sacrifice by helping them in their time of need. and the implementation of a three-digit suicide hotline for Veterans is an important lifeline for many of those most at risk. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates that more than 20 Veterans and military members die by suicide every single day across the United States. That means that the suicide rate among Veterans is nearly twice that of the general population. Just last week, three Veterans took their lives at VA facilities across the country in the span of fi\'e days. This is a national tragedy. These brave men and women who have fought for our country and risk their li ves for our nation deserve nothing less than the very best we can otkr. The National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-233), which was signed into 1 law on August I 8 h_ 2018. requires the Federal Communications Commission. in consultation with the Secretary of the Vctcrans Affairs, to complete a study on the effectiveness of an N 11 dialing code for Veterans in crisis no later than August 2019. While this is an important step forward, I remain concerned about the lack of urgency around this issue. Getting our Veterans help in their time of need is literally a life and death issue. On behalf of the Veterans and families across my great State of West Virginia who haYe lost friends and loved-ones to suicide. I strongly support the implementation of a three-digit suicide hotline for Veterans. As a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. I \Vant to ensure that your agencies have the resources and authority they need now and through the upcoming fiscal year to make this a reality. I respectfully request an update on the progress of the aforementioned feasibility study for establishing an NI 1 dialing code for Veterans in crisis, including a time line for completion, and an o\·crview of the outreach efforts conducted to date and planned in the future to ensure that a representative sample of Veterans. providers. and other relevant stakeholders have a voice in this process. Since the launch of the VA Crisis Linc for suicide prevention. crisis centers have received millions of calls from Veterans and many lives have been saved because of this critical service. However. countless Veterans remain unserved because they do not know who to call in their time of need. What are your agencies doing now to increase public awareness of the VA Crisis Line and quantify the penetration rate among at-risk Veterans'? What additional resources do you need in Fiscal year 2020 to maintain and augment those initiatives? I look forward to your response to these critical questions and your ongoing help in making more resources available to the Veteran community. Thank you for your attention to this important matter and for your continued service to our nation's Veterans. Sincerely.