Following the release of the Office of the Inspector General’s report ‘Evaluation of the Veterans Health Administration Crisis Line,’ which outlines numerous inefficiencies within the program, U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03) issued the following statement:

“The purpose of the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) is to help our nation’s veterans at their most critical hour of need,” Luetkemeyer said. “Last year, after I learned that veterans were placed on hold or disconnected from the VCL, I sent a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs demanding improvements. The response that I received from the VA indicated it was taking the necessary steps to ensure that every veteran calling into the VCL would be immediately connected with a trained professional to get the highest quality of care. Clearly that is not the case. I will be contacting the VA regarding this most recent report and I am calling on Secretary David Shulkin to immediately make the changes necessary to ensure that our veterans receive all the help they deserve.”