Committee To Hold Hearing on Veteran Suicide In Response To CBS News Report

U.S. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Bob Filner, D-Calif., told CBS News today that his committee would hold a hearing in early December, tentatively scheduled for Dec. 13, to look into the issue of veteran suicides, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the mental health needs of veterans.

Earlier this week the CBS News Investigative Unit revealed new data that shows more than 120 Americans who served in the military committed suicide each week in 2005.

Filner said his committee was unable to get information about veteran suicides: "We have been asking for this material for a few years now and haven't gotten anything, so we are going to make that a key part of the hearing."

Filner expressed frustration with Department of Veterans Affairs officials who promised him they would get him suicide numbers, but never did.