WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today announced that her bipartisan legislation to promote better access to needed mental health resources for veterans in rural areas was unanimously approved and will be included in a spending bill the U.S. Senate is currently considering.

To help address many of the challenges veterans in rural areas face transitioning to civilian life, Heitkamp’s legislation aims to expand readjustment and mental health counseling services for veterans in rural areas – particularly for those recently returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Heitkamp hopes that her bill, which also requires the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report within a year on its plan to increase capacity to provide rural veterans with these critical resources, will pave the way for a new Vet Center in Grand Forks – which she has long been calling for.

“North Dakotans answer the call to serve in large numbers, leaving their families and friends and putting their lives on the line. But too often when they return home, they don’t have access to the readjustment and psychological counseling resources they need to transition back to civilian life,” said Heitkamp. “Not a single veteran should be left behind in our state – and my bipartisan legislation will help make sure that doesn’t happen. By directing the VA to focus on veterans in rural areas, we can start addressing the internal battle that can continue when they return home, often in the form of post-traumatic stress or a sense of isolation. It’s my hope that the coordination required by this provision will identify the need we know exists in the Grand Forks region, and pave the way for a new Vet Center in the area.”

Specifically, Heitkamp’s legislation would require better coordination between the Readjustment Counseling Service and the Office of Rural Health within the VA to make sure veterans in rural areas can access the support they need, which is often difficult to come by in small towns or remote regions. It was incorporated into a larger bill to fund the VA, military construction, as well as federal transportation and housing agencies.

Transitioning servicemembers often cluster around military bases after concluding their military service – and in North Dakota, the majority of the state’s more than 7,000 post-9/11 veterans have settled near U.S. Air Force bases in Minot and Grand Forks. A Vet Center in Grand Forks would help address some of the unmet needs of veterans in rural areas, including high rates of homelessness and suicide.

Vet Centers help vulnerable veterans who served in combat zones readjust to civilian life by providing free counseling, screening, and referral services, while removing the stigma of seeking mental health care. The VA currently maintains three Vet Centers in North Dakota – in Fargo, Bismarck, and Minot. 

Background

Heitkamp has worked to stand up for North Dakota veterans, particularly those in rural areas, by: 

• Pressing VA Secretary for better care for rural veterans: In November 2015, Heitkamp pressed VA Secretary Robert McDonald for a Grand Forks Vet Center to help address the mental and physical health challenges many newly returning veterans experience during their readjustment to civilian life. The next month, Heitkamp pushed McDonald to visit North Dakota to see the challenges rural veterans face getting quality care. In February, Heitkamp pressed VA Under Secretary Shulkin on the immediate need for a Vet Center in Grand Forks.
  
  
• Helping newly returning veterans readjust to civilian life: Heitkamp has long pressed for policies that better connect new veterans with services they need to readjust to civilian life. Last summer, Heitkamp reintroduced her bipartisan Connect with Veterans Act, which aims to address the challenges newly returning veterans in North Dakota face in obtaining needed services and benefits, including employment opportunities, education assistance, and health care like mental health services.
  
  
• Strengthening resources for mental health support services for rural veterans: The bipartisan year-end spending bill Congress passed in December, which Heitkamp supported, included $258 million for Readjustment Counseling Services, which is $15 million above the requested level. The increased funds are directed toward Vet Centers to address unmet mental health needs of veterans in rural and very rural areas like North Dakota.
  
  
• Hearing directly from North Dakota veterans about the challenges they face: As co-founder of the bipartisan Senate Defense Communities Caucus, Heitkamp has long stood up for veterans and servicemembers. In October 2015, Heitkamp hosted her second Native American Veterans Summit on the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indian Reservation where Native American veterans, local Veterans Service Officers, and VA officials to meet about persisting issues and to exchange information about available housing, health care, and other resources. Shortly after joining the Senate, she conducted a statewide listening tour, meeting with veterans across the state and discussing their concerns to better understand the challenges many of them face.

###