WASHINGTON — Two Democratic senators called Tuesday for the chief mental-health official of the Veterans Affairs Department to resign, saying he tried to cover up the rising number of veteran suicides.
Sens. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii and Patty Murray of Washington state said Dr. Ira Katz withheld crucial information on the true suicide risk among veterans.
Akaka, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said in a letter to the VA that Katz’s “personal conduct and professional judgment” had been called into question.
E-mails show Katz and other VA officials apparently trying to conceal the number of suicides by veterans.
One e-mail from Katz disclosed this week as part of a lawsuit that went to trial in San Francisco starts with “Shh!” and claims that 12,000 veterans attempt suicide each year while under department treatment.
“Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?” it asks.
A VA spokesman declined to comment Tuesday.
