Published: May 09, 2008 12:14 pm      

Shh!

VA put on spot about veterans' suicides

Veterans Administration officials were doing a lot of explaining and apologizing when they appeared on Capitol Hill this week to face the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

They were answering charges that the VA has not been truthful about veterans' suicides. The criticism became even harsher after an e-mail entitled "Shh!" surfaced. The e-mail's author told the panel he deeply regrets the subject line. "It was an error and I apologize for that," said Dr. Ira Katz, VA mental health director.

The e-mail claims 12,000 veterans a year attempt suicide while under department treatment. "Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles upon it?" the message asks. The text came to light during a trial in San Francisco that suggested some at the VA might have been attempting to hide the number of attempted suicides b y those under the agency's care.

VA Secretary James Peake said he wanted to set the record straight about the suicide numbers. He said of the nearly 500,000 veterans who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq and then left the military from 2002-2005, 144 had taken their own lives. He said that rate is slightly higher than would be expected in the comparable general population, but it was not a statistically significant amount. Peake said he wants the VA to be more forthcoming and transparent.

If the VA is to have the trust of the public - and Congress - it needs to honestly deal with the issue of veterans' suicides. Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) accuses the agency of criminal negligence in the handling of suicide data, and of having a history of cover-ups.

Now that the agency has been called out by a Congressional panel, it is time to take on that transparency that Peake says he wants.