The House of Representatives is expected to pass U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin’s bipartisan Solid Start Act on Thursday, Sept. 29, after the Senate passed the bill earlier this month. Slotkin’s bill is expected to be signed into law by President Biden in the coming days.
The bill would make permanent the Solid Start pilot program at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), through which the VA contacts veterans multiple times by phone in the first year after they leave service to check in and help connect them to programs and benefits. Newly separated veterans encounter changes in job status, lifestyle, housing, health care, and location.
The rate of suicide among veterans within their first year of transition is nearly two times higher than the overall veteran suicide rate. In 2017, among veterans who died by suicide, 62% had not been in contact with the Veterans Health Administration in the preceding two years, and 40% of veterans responding to a recent survey by the American Legion were not sure whether they were eligible for VA mental health services.
Slotkin’s bill would codify the Solid Start program to ensure that separating service members receive multiple outreaches from the VA within one year of separating from the military to ensure they are aware of the VA benefits and programs that are available to them. The bill also ensures that the VA continues to improve upon the program by authorizing sufficient funds to support the program and specifying key requirements under the program, including:
• Calling each veteran three times within the first year after separation Prioritizing outreach to veterans who accessed mental health resources prior to separation.
• Ensuring that calls are tailored to the needs of each veteran by conducting quality assurance testing.
• Collecting up-to-date contact information during the transition process.
• Encouraging transitioning veterans to authorize alternate points of contact who can reach them in the event the veteran is unavailable for direct outreach from the VA.
• Following up on missed phone calls through mailings and other outreach to ensure the veteran still receives similar information Including Solid Start information in VA booklets, on the VA website and through other resources.
• Striving to reach veterans who separated prior to the beginning of the Solid Start program, to offer them similar explanations of resources.
As a military spouse and Army step-mother, Slotkin has prioritized legislation around supporting veterans during her time in Congress. Last year, she introduced the bipartisan Veterans Burn Pits Exposure Recognition Act, a bill aimed at addressing the specific needs of veterans exposed to open-air toxic burn pits while serving in the Armed Forces. That bill was signed into law in August as part of the Honoring Our PACT Act.
