Press Releases

Today Rep. Cartwright introduced the bi-partisan Veterans Mental Health Accessibility Act with 48 original co-sponsors.  Currently, veterans face a five-year window in which they must seek treatment for mental illnesses before losing their higher priority status.   This legislation would eliminate the five-year window and allow veterans to seek treatment for service-connected mental illnesses, regardless of when their conditions manifest themselves. 

"Sixty years after the establishment of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), we must renew our commitment to provide the men and women who have served our country in uniform with the healthcare services they have earned," said Rep. Cartwright.  "It is time we ensure that the veterans living in Northeastern Pennsylvania and across America enjoy access to the healthcare benefits they have earned."

Currently the VA offers healthcare treatment and services to our nation’s veterans who suffer from service-related physical or mental disabilities.  While the diagnosis of physical injuries typically is made before or shortly after separation from the military, mental illnesses may not manifest themselves until years later.  Serious mental health issues like post-traumatic stress disorder were virtually undiagnosed in veterans of conflicts previous to OEF and OIF, having only been added by the to the American Psychiatric Association to the third edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) classification scheme in 1980.  As the United States military and the VA continue to improve treatment for those who have served, there remains a gap for veterans struggling with mental illnesses.

"We applaud Congressman Cartwright on taking the lead in caring for our Veterans with mental health disorders.  With an average of 22 veterans committing suicide daily we must take every effort to protect those who protect our country and its citizens every day," said Sue Walther, Executive Director of the Mental Health Association in Pennsylvania.

"The Veterans Mental Health Accessibility Act would ensure the services and treatments that are available to recently discharged veterans are available to all who have served in combat.  This bill maintains the role of the VA to treat only service-related disorders and allows its healthcare professionals to diagnose mental disorders and illnesses according to established procedures," Continued Rep. Cartwright.

Rep. Cartwright was sworn into Congress on January 3^rd.

Original Co-Sponsors:

Rep. Beatty, Rep. Brady, Rep. Butterfield, Rep. Capps, Rep. Cardenas, Rep. Carson, Rep. Christensen, Rep. Chu, Rep. Conyers, Rep. DeFazio, Rep. DeLauro, Rep. Deutch, Rep. Doggett, Rep. Enyart, Rep. Esty, Rep. Fattah, Rep. Frankel, Rep. Gabbard, Rep. Grijalva, Rep. Hahn, Rep. Higgins, Rep. Hinojosa, Rep. Holt, Rep. Honda, Rep. Horsford, Rep. Jackson-Lee, Rep. Johnson, Rep. Jones, Rep. Kildee, Rep. Kuster, Rep. Lee, Rep. Lowey, Rep. McCarthy, Rep. McGovern, Rep. Napolitano, Rep. Neal, Rep. Nolan, Rep. Norton, Rep. Pascrell, Rep. Pastor, Rep. Peters, Rep. Rangel, Rep. Rush, Rep. Ryan, Rep. Shea-Porter, Rep. Speier, Rep. Tonko, Rep. Waters

Sponsoring Organizations:

AMVETS, American Veterans for Equal Rights, The Retired Enlisted Association, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Mental Health America, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Mental Health Association in Pennsylvania