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VA officials try to cover up veteran suicides
Two Democratic senators are calling for the chief mental health official of the Veterans Affairs Department to resign, saying he tried to cover up the rising number of veteran suicides.
The Associated Press reports: A number of Democratic senators said they were appalled at e-mails showing Dr. Ira Katz, mental health director, and other VA officials apparently trying to conceal the number of suicides by veterans. An e-mail message from Katz disclosed this week as part of a lawsuit that went to trial in San Francisco starts with “Shh!” and claims 12,000 veterans a year attempt suicide while under department treatment.
“Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?” the e-mail asks.
A bill introduced this week would require the VA to report to Congress within 180 days the number of veterans who have died by suicide since Jan. 1, 1997, and continue reports annually, the AP reported. Statistics provided earlier this year by the VA showed that 790 veterans under VA care attempted suicide in 2007. That figure is contradicted by the e-mail revealed this week.
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By TRS
May 2, 2008 4:48 PM | Link to this
Such goings on has nothing to do with any particular administration. The VA was bad long before the Bush administration and will be bad well past the Bush administration. It is the perfect example of government run health care and why it should not even be a consideration in the health care debate.By mwm
April 25, 2008 4:59 AM | Link to this
As time goes by, more and more government abuses are coming to light. Using lies to start a war, using propaganda to perpetuate a war, making torture an acceptable option, ignoring the Geneva Convention, Then, attempted cover ups of how our veterans are treated. In all of my life, this current administration, the Bush Administration, is the most vile and disgusting group of vermin on the face of the planet. And, to see our government agencies harm the American public in any way is beyond evil. The VA has a mission and an obligation to care for and respect those that served. Not to attempt cover ups and hide problems. As a veteran, I do know that we should all honor and respect all veterans. And, we now have a new set of war veterans with disabilities that need treatment.