Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. QUIGLEY. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me the time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act, a Senate companion to bipartisan legislation that I authored and introduced to address the mental health needs of law enforcement officers across the country.

Every day, our officers put their lives on the line to protect our communities. They work long shifts and respond to dangerous calls in order to keep crime off our streets and keep our citizens safe. This critical work does not come without a cost. Law enforcement officers often experience post-traumatic stress from their work environment.

According to multiple studies, officers are more than twice as likely to die by suicide than in line-of-duty-related homicides or accidents. Suicide has become the number one cause of deaths for Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers around the country. In fact, in my hometown of Chicago, the officer suicide rate is 60 percent higher than the national average.

Despite these sobering statistics, there is no Federal Government program to track the number of officers who attempt suicide or lose their lives to suicide every year. My legislation creates a data collection program within the FBI to track law enforcement suicides at the local, State, and Federal levels.

By providing accurate and detailed information, this bill would help police departments implement more effective suicide prevention and post-prevention programs. These intervention programs will save lives.

It is our turn to bring the brave men and women who fight for us the care they need and deserve.

Madam Speaker, I am grateful to Chairman Nadler for his support of this important mission and for prioritizing this piece of legislation and bringing it to the House floor. I thank the committee staff and Hannah from my own staff for her extraordinary work on this measure.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support the Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection bill today.

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