The ACA Government Affairs team recently worked with Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., on legislation that would require the Dept. of Veterans Affairs to integrate LPCs into its training programs.
The bill was incorporated into a larger omnibus bill, “The Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act” (S. 1982), which was introduced by Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, earlier this year. Unfortunately, it was blocked by the Senate; however, Sen. Sanders will continue to work on the bill, and ACA is fighting to keep the LPC component intact.
Part of that fight includes maintaining awareness of what's at stake. Art Terrazas, ACA's Director of Government Affairs, wrote
this Roll Call op-ed to once again highlight the important role LPCs could be playing in veterans’ mental health care.