Reform Candidate Announces Plan to Ensure No One Gets Lost in VA’s Bureaucracy
Kinderhook, NY — May 18, 2016 … In an effort to ensure that military veterans receive the necessary care, treatment and job placement services upon returning home from service at home and abroad, Congressional candidate John Faso (R-Kinderhook) today announced his plan for ensuring no member of our armed services falls through the bureaucratic cracks of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Faso, who is running in the 19th Congressional District on the Republican, Conservative, Independence and Reform lines, is forming an advisory group comprised of veterans across the 11-county district who will work with him to provide guidance and advice on a range of veteran-related issues, including access to quality healthcare. He is also proposing to establish a competitive grant program at the federal level that to fund qualified nonprofits that provide peer-to-peer counseling services to veterans suffering from PTSD, TBI and other trauma.
“The statistics are staggering: According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as two-thirds of veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are not receiving treatment for a variety of reasons,” Faso said. “Far too many brave men and women that are returning home from service are not getting the adequate mental health and job placement services they need and deserve from the VA. That has to change. Members of the Armed Forces deserve better and my plan will ensure that local communities have the resources they need while not adding costs on the taxpayers.”
The statistics are indeed alarming:
- 31% of Vietnam veterans and 30% of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- More than 20% of veterans with PTSD also have Substance Use Disorder (SUD)
- 31% of women veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who were diagnosed with PTSD reported Military Sexual Trauma (MST)
- 19% of veterans may have Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- As many as two-thirds of veterans suffering from PTSD are not receiving treatment.
The way this plan would work is that county mental health and veterans services offices would provide facilities and services such a group therapy, grief counseling, drug and alcohol counseling and job placement. Working in conjunction with established nonprofits, meetings would be held two to five times per week, and clinical professionals would provide follow-ups and referrals if necessary.
Training would be provided according to best practices established by nonprofits such as Vet2Vet. The measure would also extend hours at VA outpatient pharmacies nationwide to include nights and weekends, comparable with retail pharmacies, and allow veterans to seek immediate behavioral health care outside the VA system for those currently eligible for the Veterans Choice Program.
The program would operate as a competitive grant program for mental health and support services at local level, and would be paid for with an estimated $40 million a year in savings through 2024 by capping bonuses of senior executives at the VA and finding further savings through an audit of federal mental health programs under SAMHSA. There is no matching state or local share.
“No veteran should have to fight such a devastating and ongoing battle in solitude after serving their country,” Faso added. “As a nation, we must do better.”
Faso’s committee includes:
- Len Carson, Otsego County, NY, US Air Force Active and Reserve
- Gary Flaherty, Columbia County, US Army Command Sergeant
- Sam Rowe, Delaware County, US Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Christian Bradley, Rensselaer County. US Army Retired Colonel, Gulf War I Veteran
- Michael Abrams, Columbia County, US Marine Corps, Afghanistan Vet
- Carl Clark, Ulster County, US Army Master Sergeant
- Mike Spaccaforno, Delaware County, US Marines Lance Corporal Vietnam Vet
- Patrick Kelly, Greene County, US Army Sergeant.
“John Faso is the clear choice for my fellow veterans in this race. He understands that the current administration has failed those who have sacrificed for their country and has the record of results to actually do something about it. I am happy to be a member of this team,” said Sam Rowe, Town of Hancock Supervisor and US Navy vet.
Faso is running to fill the seat now held by Congressman Chris Gibson (R), who is not seeking re-election. As a member of the New York Assembly, Faso developed and pushed proposals that led to real balanced budgets – including the first reduction in state spending in decades while closing a $5 billion deficit. He championed legislation that made a difference for tens of thousands of families such as the STAR program and education and real property tax reform. A former board member of the Rockefeller Institute of Government, Faso also served for three years as a member of the Control Board that worked to fix the financial and managerial issues of the City of Buffalo and its school system.
Mr. Faso and his wife, Mary Frances, a registered nurse, are the proud parents of two children. They have lived in Kinderhook, New York, for more than three decades.
John Faso (R-Kinderhook) is former Republican leader of the state Assembly and candidate for Congress in the 19th Congressional district. To learn more about Faso, visit johnfaso.com.
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