Rounds Joins President as Clay Hunt SAV Act Signed Into Law

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, today attended the President’s bill signing ceremony for the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act at the White House.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to join the President as he signed this very important bipartisan piece of legislation into law today,” said Rounds.  “Our men and women in uniform put everything on the line to protect this country. Many of them struggle with the invisible wounds of war long after they leave the battlefield. They deserve top-notch, accessible mental health care.”

The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act requires a new website to be built that offers veterans information on how to access mental health services. Additionally, it creates a medical school loan repayment program to recruit more VA psychiatrists.

The bill was named for Clay Hunt, a Marine veteran who committed suicide in March 2011 at the age of 28. It passed the Senate and House unanimously.