North Dakota, Minnesota Senators Co-sponsor Legislation

 Photo Courtesy of ptsd.va.gov

Senators Heidi Heitkamp and John Hoeven of North Dakota, and Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith of Minnesota, were among several United States Senators who co-sponsored a bipartisan resolution to designate June 2018 as National Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) Awareness Month, and June 27 as National PTS Awareness Day. North Dakota’s representation in designating June as National PTS Awareness Month goes back to the year 2010, when former North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad led the Senate in designating the first ever Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Day. According to the National Center for PTSD, which is run by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), less than ten out of every 100 people will develop PTSD at some point in their lives. A press release from Senator Hoeven’s office said that since 2001, more than half of all Afghanistan and Iraq veterans treated by the VA have been diagnosed with at least one mental health condition— and up to one-fifth with PTS.