DENVER – U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, was pleased with the $1.3 trillion spending bill the House passed Thursday because it includes a project for veterans his office said he’s been working on for four years.

The bill would require Veterans Affairs to provide initial assessments and mental and behavioral health services to veterans with an other-than-honorable discharge, especially those who could be at risk of suicide or violence against others.

The spending plan also establishes a process to review of the character of discharges that could make some veterans eligible of VA benefits.

“It is critical that our men and women in uniform know they can reach out to the VA for help when they come home from a combat deployment,” Coffman said in a statement Thursday. “We particularly need to watch out for those suffering from “invisible” wounds that may lead to behavioral and other mental health conditions. While the correlation between their mental health condition and minor misconduct could be linked, this made no difference to their ‘character of discharge.

“My legislation corrects this and lets our combat veterans know that they are not alone. As a Marine Corps combat veteran, I like to live by the rule that ‘we never leave anyone behind.'”