LTE From Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-25)

This past Congressional floor session, my colleagues and I passed H.R. 24, the “Helping American Heroes Act.” I was incredibly pleased that such measures are being taken to ensure the best possible health care and mental health services for our returning veterans. These heros deserve to be adequately taken care of as they transition from their time in active duty service to life at home with their families and local communities. H.R. 24 will provide for greater accountability of the Office of Veterans Affairs and the American people and lead to better research and treatment of the issues that our veterans face upon homecoming. I would like to ask my fellow members of Congress if there may be another way that we can prevent widespread mental health issues among our armed forces. Clearly, the experiences of our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan resulted in significant and sometimes fatal damage to their psychological health. We must continue to factor in the information about the current state of mental health as related to armed combat and post-traumatic stress disorder when making foreign policy decisions, especially decisions that require military action. President Obama has recently requested that Congress review and consider a Joint Resolution “to authorize the limited use of the United States Armed Forces against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.” I have hopes that my fellow members of Congress will thoroughly and wisely consider this resolution, but also the actions of the Islamic State, the history of the region as a whole as well as the history of U.S. involvement in the region.