The Senate passed by voice vote Tuesday a package of veterans' mental health legislation amid rising congressional scrutiny over how the Veterans Affairs Department has been handling the issue.

The Veterans' Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008 (S 2162), assembled by Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawaii, is a composite of smaller bills that seek to address mounting cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a rising tide of suicides among soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The bill would greatly expand the research and care facilities for veterans suffering from PTSD, substance use disorders and chronic pain. The legislation would extend mental health resources to veterans' family members, provide assistance for low-income and rural veterans, and force the Veterans Affairs Department to conduct a full review of its mental health infrastructure.

The bill's passage precedes Wednesday's Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing on allegations that the VA has sought to minimize PTSD diagnoses as well as public awareness of veterans' mental health issues.

The hearing will feature testimony by Dr. Norma J. Perez, PTSD program coordinator for the Temple, Texas, VA Medical Center, who will face criticism for a March 20 e-mail she sent to social workers that encouraged them not to diagnose returning soldiers with PTSD.

"Given that we are having more and more compensation-seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out," Perez wrote in the e-mail obtained by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

In a written statement prepared for Wednesday's hearing, Perez defended her e-mail, claiming that PTSD diagnosis was not an exact science.

"In retrospect, I realize I did not adequately convey my message appropriately, but my intent was unequivocally to improve the quality of care our veterans received," she wrote.

Also testifying at the hearing will be retired Army Brig. Gen. Michael J. Kussman M.D., undersecretary for health for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). His aide, Dr. Ira Katz, was at the center of a similar controversy when it was revealed that an e-mail he wrote sought to obscure the number of suicide attempts by soldiers returning from Iraq.

Katz will be present at the hearing, but will not offer direct testimony, according to a Democratic aide.

"As an oversight body, we must know whether the actions of these VA employees point to a systemic indifference to invisible wounds," Akaka will say in his opening statement.

The House has a companion measure (HR 4053), introduced by Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., which was referred to the House Veterans' Affairs Committee in November.

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