Colorado Congressman Jason Crow, D-Aurora, is working with Republicans on a slate of bills to help address tough issues facing veterans, such as high rates of ALS and suicide. 

The bills were expected to be introduced this week as the United States marks Veterans Day. They’re expected to target specific gaps in care and education benefits, along with helping address the number of veterans who are incarcerated. 

“I went to war three times for this country, and throughout my time in Congress, I have worked hard to ensure my fellow veterans are equipped to transition to civilian life,” Crow said in a news release. 

Researching ALS

Since veterans are twice as likely to develop ALS as those who have not served, Crow and three other lawmakers are calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs to study ALS and create a strategy to improve access to clinical trials for treatment through the Veterans with ALS Reporting Act. ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that causes loss of muscle control. 

The VA runs a Biorepository Brain Bank where it collects tissue from veterans with ALS to further research into the disease. 

Mental health care gaps

To address the need for mental health care, Crow is introducing the Building Resources and Access for Veterans’ Mental Health Engagement Act, or BRAVE Act, to ensure the VA is meeting the needs of rural and female veterans. 

The bill calls for a report to Congress to ensure that vet centers in rural areas are meeting residents’ needs and for additional research into how best to help prevent female veterans from dying by suicide. 

Past studies have found suicide prevention and outreach messaging campaigns should by tailored to women, the news release said. 

The bill would also increase funding for the Staff Sgt. Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program from $750,000 to $1 million and extend it for three years. The grant program supports community organizations that provide peer support, case management and outreach to identify those at risk of suicide, among other services. 

In a separate bill called the Veterans’ Sentinel Act, Crow would like to see an analysis of deaths on VA campuses. The proposed legislation would require an annual report to Congress detailing on-campus suicides, suicide attempts and recommendations for improved prevention. Between October 2017 and September 2019, 55 veterans took their lives on VA campuses. A similar bill was introduced in 2023. 

Suicide among U.S. veterans is down from a peak of 6,722 deaths in 2018, which marked an all-time high since at least 2001, according to a VA report. During 2020, the country saw the number of veterans dying by suicide dip to 6,326, the lowest since 2007. The most recent data shows 6,407 veterans died by suicide in 2022. 

Education benefit transfer fix 

To expand access to education benefits to veterans’ families, Crow is introducing the Veterans Earned Education Act to reduce the burden of transferring benefits for certain people who qualify. For post 9/11 veterans to transfer their education benefits to dependents and spouses, they must have served six years and agree to serve four more years from the date of the transfer request. A similar bill was introduced in 2023. 

The bill will allow servicemembers with 17 years of service or more to transfer their education benefits without serving an additional four years. Medically retired servicemembers would also be allowed to transfer their benefits, according to the news release. 

Reaching incarcerated vets

To better reach incarcerated veterans with services, the Justice Involved Veterans Support Act would offer grants and technical assistance to state prisons and local jails to improve documentation of inmates who are veterans, and to increase the number of veterans referred to a specialized court focused on connecting veterans to therapy. A similar bill was introduced in 2021. 

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, is co-sponsoring the bill.

About 181,000 veterans are involved in the criminal justice system, and more than half have mental health or substance abuse disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, alcoholism or drug addiction, according to a news release.

In El Paso County, Veterans Trauma Court has helped connect local residents with inpatient treatment through the VA for substance abuse.