This story was reported and written by VPM News.
A Virginia Senate panel voted down a bill aimed at preventing veteran and military suicides. It was an unexpected turn for the bipartisan bill, since it previously passed unanimously through the House of Delegates. Now, its sponsor is waiting to see if the state budget will fund the effort.
House Bill 1738, introduced by Del. David Reid (D–Loudoun), sought to require Virginia’s vital records registrar to compile and share information on veteran and military suicides with the state Department of Veterans Services. It would have also created a suicide prevention program within the department to review the data for an annual report.
The bill cleared the Virginia House 99–0, but was killed Monday in the Democrat-led Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.
“That was not something I was necessarily expecting,” Reid told VPM News. “But I've also been doing this long enough [to know] that the longer these get pushed off to the last minute, you recognize that it's possible that they're gonna run into trouble when they go to Senate Finance or House Appropriations. That's just the nature of the way the process works.”
State Sen. Creigh Deeds (D–Charlottesville), one of the Senate’s budget negotiators, said Democrats would look to set aside money for the program via budget amendment before recommending Reid’s bill be spiked.
“This is an issue that I’m incredibly sensitive to, but it’s not the Senate budget,” Deeds said Monday during a subcommittee meeting, prior to the full panel’s vote.
A six-month workgroup identified suicide prevention as a key issue for veterans and their families, according to Reid. The workgroup, made up of stakeholders and lawmakers, issued a report last year that Reid called Virginia’s first strategic plan for veterans.
Reid said he pursued the effort through legislation so the program would be in state code and last longer than it would in a two-year budget. With that path blocked, Reid said he’s taking Senate Democrats at their word “that they will try to work to find a place to put it in the budget.”
The Virginia Senate removed the $145,000 earmarked for the suicide prevention program when the chamber passed amendments to Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s budget. The House has kept the funding in its current budget plan. (Virginia's fiscal year runs from July 1–June 30.)
Reid said Virginia could make better policy decisions if it closes data gaps on veteran and military suicides, including on how they occur.
Dr. Angela Porter, the director of suicide prevention and opioid addiction services with DVS, spoke in support of the bill in January while it was in the House. At the time, she said without the bill, Virginia “would lose very integral data” to inform suicide prevention methods.
The latest count from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs shows Virginia had 184 veteran suicide deaths in 2022; 76% of those involved guns.
According to the U.S. Defense Department’s most recent annual report, service member suicides increased in 2023. The report doesn’t provide state-specific data.
Reid, a 23-year Navy Reserve veteran, called the effort “nonpartisan” and “very personal” for him. He told VPM News that at least two of his colleagues killed themselves while he served.
Mental health and suicide prevention resources:
In emergency situations, call 988 or 911.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
- Deaf or Hard of Hearing? 1-800-799-4889
- En Español: 1-888-628-9454
Mental Health America of Virginia Warm Line: 1-866-400-MHAV (6428)
- Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Saturday, Sunday and Holidays, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Spanish Services (Friday and Saturday), 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Text/Chat Support (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday), 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Veterans Crisis Line & Military Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255, Press 1
Crisis Text Line: 741-741
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