WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of his continued efforts to improve access to quality behavioral health treatment for all Americans, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) led a letter today with U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (Mich.) and Jerry Moran (Kan.) calling on the U.S. Departments of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs to explain their findings on two mental health studies by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) regarding treatment for service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and their families.

The bipartisan letter comes in the wake of the Fort Hood, Texas tragedy and reports of lax mental health services at the St. Louis VA hospital. The Senators sent the letter in advance of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) mark-up this week. Blunt serves as a member of both the defense appropriations and authorizing committees. Moran is a member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

In the letter, the Senators highlighted their concern with the reports’ conclusion that “‘screening, assessment, and treatment approaches for psychological health problems are not always implemented between and within DOD and VA in a consistent manner or aligned with the evidence base, which threatens the delivery of high-quality care and hampers evaluation efforts.’”

Moran and Stabenow also joined together to co-sponsor Blunt’s bipartisan “Caring For America’s Heroes Act” to bring mental health treatment in-line with the way physical injuries are treated under TRICARE. In addition, Blunt and Stabenow successfully worked together to pass a version of the “Excellence in Mental Health Act” last month to address the nation’s fragmented mental health system.