Murray says VA's top mental health official should resign

WASHINGTON — Sen. Patty Murray today called for the chief mental health official of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to resign, saying he tried to cover up the rising number of veteran suicides.

Murray, a Washington Democrat and the senior member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said Dr. Ira Katz, the VA's mental health director, deliberately withheld crucial information on the true suicide risk among veterans.

"Dr. Katz's irresponsible actions have been a disservice to our veterans and it is time for him to go," Murray said. "The number one priority of the VA should be caring for our veterans, not covering up the truth."

Murray and other Democratic senators said they were appalled at e-mails showing that Katz and other VA officials tried to conceal the number of suicides by veterans. An e-mail message from Katz revealed at a lawsuit this week starts with "Shh!" and refers to the 12,000 veterans per year who attempt suicide while under department treatment.

"Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?" the e-mail asks.

A lawyer for a veterans group showed the e-mail as part of a lawsuit being heard in San Francisco that alleges the VA failed to properly treat thousands of veterans for mental illness.

An e-mail revealed at the trial said an average of 18 military veterans kill themselves each day — and five of them are under VA care when they commit suicide.

"It is completely outrageous that the federal agency charged with helping veterans would instead cover up the hard truth — that more and more Americans coming home after bravely fighting for their country are suffering from mental illnesses and in the most tragic circumstances, committing suicide," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. "Anyone at the VA who is involved in this cover-up should be removed immediately."

Harkin, Murray and Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., introduced legislation Tuesday calling on the VA to track how many veterans die by suicide each year. Currently, VA facilities record the numbers of suicide deaths and attempts in VA facilities — which have increased from 492 in 2000 to 790 in 2007 — but do not record how many veterans overall take their own lives.

The new bill would require the VA to report to Congress within 180 days the number of veterans who have died by suicide since Jan. 1, 1997, and continue reports annually.

"We are looking at a real crisis among our veterans and it is high time the VA recognizes it," said Harkin. "Tracking the number of suicides among our veterans will help us to better understand the true depths of this crisis, so we may ensure we are doing everything we can to address their mental health needs."

A spokesman for the VA declined immediate comment today.

A government lawyer on Monday urged a judge to dismiss a class-action lawsuit against the VA, saying the agency runs a "world class" medical care system.

Two veterans groups filed suit against a sprawling VA system that handled a record 838,000 claims last year. A federal judge in San Francisco is hearing the case in a two-week, nonjury trial.