WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are taking action to protect veterans from self-harm with a new bill designed to reduce the number of veterans' suicides.
The most recent Department of Veterans Affairs report confirmed 6,146 veterans who died by suicide.
That was 343 less deaths than the prior year, and the lowest it's been since 2006.
Still, veteran advocacy groups have repeatedly said that one veteran's suicide is one too many.
Sen, Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) is cosponsoring the "Not Just a Number Act."
The bipartisan legislation would direct the VA to evaluate the relationship between VA benefits and suicide outcomes in their annual suicide prevention report.
"I think we need to do a better job of evaluating the kind of services that the VA is providing and determine which of these services is showing the most effectiveness in reducing veterans' suicides. And that's the purpose of this bill," said Kaine.
He said that while trauma and PTSD play key roles in vets' taking their own lives, he thinks the transition from active duty to civilian life can be jarring and may also contribute to the problem.
"That transition might even be more of a factor in military veterans;' suicides than trauma is." he said.
The measure requires the VA to take a more comprehensive look at how veterans who died by suicide used other VA benefits, including disability compensation, education and employment benefits, home loans and foreclosure assistance and housing assistance programs.
The bill would help identify the benefits that are most effective in preventing suicide and require the department to expand access to them.
Kaine also signed onto another bill to help vets.
The "GUARD VA Benefits Act" would protect veterans from unaccredited individuals and businesses charging unauthorized fees to assist veterans filing for disability benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs.