Lauren Underwood

U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville, introduced the Lethal Means Safety Training Act in Congress this month, meant to fight suicide rates among veterans.

Underwood’s bill came last week as Speaker Mike Johnson closed the House on Sept. 16, saying the early recess was so that lawmakers could campaign for the midterm elections. Johnson’s actions were met with criticism from both Republicans and Democrats who said there was still work to be done in Washington.

Underwood posted about her efforts in a Sept. 16 Facebook post on her legislator page, saying she wasn’t “stopping” despite Johnson’s early recess.

The bill “helps make sure at the VA all the staff, all the providers know how to keep our veterans safe from self-harm,” Underwood said in the post.

Underwood also used the final day in Congress to introduce the Educating Future Nurses Act, a bipartisan-backed bill that would, Underwood said, help grow the nursing workforce.

The Lethal Means Safety Training Act would expand training for all veterans’ affairs employees who regularly interact with veterans, according to a Sept. 17 news release from the representative’s office. The training would focus on practices meant to reduce a person’s suicide risk by limiting access to deadly items or other means.

If the bill is passed, community care providers and family caregivers would also have access to the training under the new legislation, according to Underwood’s office.

The legislation was brought forth in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs by Underwood and fellow Democratic U.S. reps. Julia Brownley and Mike Levin, both from California.

Lethal means safety is one of the few population-level interventions that reduce suicide rates, according to the news release. September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.

Currently, only clinical health care providers in Veterans Health Administration facilities are required to receive lethal means safety training.

“The evidence is clear: supporting lethal means safety saves lives,” Underwood said in the release. “The Lethal Means Safety Training Act will make sure that all VA employees and community partners who care for our veterans are equipped to help a veteran in crisis.”

The Lethal Means Safety Training Act also requires VA to publish its training resources for anyone to access, according to the release.

“VA safety training programs provide VA employees with the tools they need to be successful, especially when discussing storage of firearms and medications with veterans,” Levin said in the release. “This bill would expand lethal means safety training to ensure more VA employees, caregivers, and community care providers are able to guide veterans in secure storage and help save lives. I thank Rep. Underwood for her partnership on this bill and look forward to it moving through the legislative process.”