U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (NH-01), Chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee for the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and Co-Chair of the Equality Caucus, secured the commitment of VA to work together on his SERVE Act during a full Committee hearing entitled, “Veteran Suicide Prevention: Innovative Research and Expanded Public Health Efforts”. This legislation would permanently protect benefits for LGBTQ+ veterans under law.

During the hearing, Congressman Pappas highlighted the importance of VA mental health services in combatting veteran suicide, and the fact that LGBTQ+ veterans are more at risk of suicide than the general veteran population. This means access to these services are even more important for LGBTQ+ veterans, and that the legacy of policies like ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ continues to prevent LGBTQ+ veterans from accessing VA benefits like life-saving mental health services.

Chris Pappas: “Dr. Matthews, maybe I could turn to you. On Monday we marked ten years since the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy was repealed. Estimates say that more than 13,000 servicemembers were discharged under this policy, many receiving other than honorable discharges (OTH) or entry level separations (ELS). So it’s clear across the board, that those who are connected to services, supports, care at VA, have lower risk for suicide. And as we continue to contend with the legacy of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ I’m wondering if you could offer some comments on the directive that was issued by VA on Monday, which seeks to remove this barrier. There some startling statistics that I’ve seen about LGBTQ+ veterans, people who did or were not were not able to serve openly in the military, experiencing suicide at a much higher rate. 15% of all LGBTQ+ veterans attempt suicide according to one study, compared to less than 1% for the entire veteran population. I’ve got legislation I’ve introduced on this topic which reflects the priorities that were outlined in the directive, but I’m wondering if you could reflect on the experience of this particular group, what VA needs to continue to do to make sure that we’re removing barriers, and whether legislation would be needed to help support the direction that the administration wants to move in.”

VA Assistant Under Secretary for Health, Dr. Kameron Matthews: “I’m so glad sir for this question, just because you are hitting the nail on the head as far as really a targeted population that we need to bring some attention to. Our directive really was seeking to emphasize our current benefits policy, that this sort of exclusion is unacceptable. We really are charging our adjudicators to assure that any separations due to sexual orientation, gender identity, or HIV status are classified as eligible. That is affirming our policy, we’re also implementing a second look policy, so that we can actually ensure that any veterans that might have not been provided benefits are actually having their actions reconsidered. So there’s increased oversight and guidance through this directive, we firmly agree with ensuring that all of our LGBTQ+ veterans are receiving the services that they need. Of course you’re aware that we’re also moving forward with gender affirming surgery coverage as a benefit, which was prior excluded as well too. So we’re actively looking to assure that this population of veterans receives the services that they need.”