Tim Sheehy: “Well, thanks for the question, Laurel. And obviously, as a…”

“How will you address the issue? Increase resources and staffing, and speed up the process of getting the Montana State hospital in Warm Springs revamped? Well, thanks for the question, Laurel. And obviously, as a combat veteran, as part of a generation of combat veterans who we carried the largest combat burden of any recent generation, we didn't do one deployment. We went back again and again and again and again and again. Many of us served 5610, twelve tours in combat, all volunteer, over and over again. Never has a war fallen on such a small population. And as a result, we're seeing mental health crisis coming from our veterans, which is tragic. And I've been part of that. I've experienced it myself. We've seen a deinstitutionalization of our mental health care system, not just in Montana, but nationally. We've had a medical industry that's been overconsolidated, especially in the last 20 years, as we see big pharma and massive hospital chains focusing on what's profitable instead of, oftentimes what the community needs. And obviously, mental health is not very profitable because lots of times there's not operations and drugs and devices that are sold through it. And it's a very hard problem to solve and it's hard to quantify. So we need to reinvest in our local mental health facilities. You know, Galen's just down the road. As a matter of fact, you know, I used to use those facilities for training in the seals. We'd go to these abandoned mental hospitals and use them for urban combat. The reality is, it's a tragedy. They've been closed and shut down and are withering away. We need to reinvigorate those and make sure that states nationwide, but especially the state of Montana, who has a unique mental health situation with as widespread as a rural population is, we are able to provide mental health services to all of our residents, regardless of income. Thank you, Mister Sheehy. Senator tester, Laurel. Mental health is a critically important issue. Look, Montana ranks first or second in suicides in this country every year.” (52:52–54:17)

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