Numerous health care services are provided for our nation’s veterans by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). With the rising number of veterans seeking treatment for mental health issues, such as PTSD, it is imperative that Congress untie the VA's hand to ensure adequate treatment is available when it is needed. However this mental health treatment should not be limited to veterans. The psychological toll that war brings also extends to the families of our brave servicemembers.

Current law allows the VA to provide support services to the immediate family members of veterans being treated for service-connected conditions. Yet, with respect to other veterans, the VA may only provide these services when they are initiated during a period of hospitalization. Unfortunately, this hospitalization requirement severely limits veterans and their families’ access to services.

To address this issue of access, I introduced H.R. 6439, the Mental Health for Heroes' Families Act of 2008. While not changing the rule that such services must be deemed necessary for the veteran’s treatment, my bill simply repeals the precondition that a veteran must be hospitalized before initiating family services.

Additionally, the VA has begun to transform the delivery of mental health care from an inpatient-based model to an outpatient model, which has improved efficiency and increased veterans’ access to care. However, as a result, some families have become ineligible for support services simply because their loved one’s care was provided on an outpatient basis.

As long as family support services are necessary in connection with the veteran’s treatment, it should be irrelevant whether the disability under treatment is service-connected or provided in a hospital.

H.R. 6439 was included in a package of bills to improve veterans' heath care (S. 2162, the Veterans’ Mental Health and Other Care Improvement Act of 2008), which successfully passed both the House and the Senate and will now be sent to the President for signature.

Video of Phil's floor statement in support of H.R. 6439