At the same time, a new estimate indicates that veteran suicide deaths could exceed combat fatalities for Iraq and Afghanistan forces.

The hearing, called The truth about veteran suicides, centered on emails released last month by the federal District Court of Northern California. The emails showed that there were an average of 12,000 annual suicide attempts by veterans within the VA system. The emails also revealed that the VA was aware of an estimated suicide rate of 6,570 per year across the veteran population. With regard to both figures, the emails made clear that top officials did not want the information to be made public.

The lawsuit (Veterans for Common Sense et al. v. Peake et al.), brought last June by veterans groups Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth, is seeking to force a restructuring of the veterans medical system to better handle the growing numbers of seriously injured and mentally traumatized veterans. Of particular concern to the groups are the hundreds of thousands of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries (TBI), who are at the greatest risk for suicide.

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