Preventing Veteran Suicide

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GARBARINO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, during Suicide Prevention Month, in honor of the American heroes who have lost their battles with PTSD, depression, and other mental illness.

While suicide affects Americans from all walks of life, veterans commit suicide at a rate that is 1.5 times higher than those who have not served in the military. According to the VA, nearly 18 veterans take their own life each day, and at least 60,000 veterans died by suicide between 2008 and 2017.

This is unimaginable. After surviving the horrors of war, veterans deserve our unwavering commitment to safeguarding their physical and mental health.

That is why I introduced H.R. 1123, the Veteran Suicide Prevention Act, which directs the VA to complete a review of suicides by veterans in the last 5 years and provide recommendations to improve the well- being of veterans.

Issues of mental illness can be nuanced and complex, but we owe it to our veterans to put every resource behind understanding what factors lead to veteran suicide so that we can put a stop to it and save veteran lives.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source