Suicide Prevention Day

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Suicide Prevention Day, which is recognized on September 10. Suicide is a tragedy that touches more of us than most might realize. It is also a great challenge for our military.

In addition to an alarming suicide rate, half of all soldiers who tried suicide first attempted it before enlisting, according to recent Army studies, and a large percentage had never been deployed in a combat role.

Today, as we draw attention to the issues and prevention strategies that might save just one life or more, I am proud to say the House in May passed bipartisan legislation that would improve the military's approach to suicide detection and prevention.

While currently the Department of Defense does a thorough physical assessment for military recruits, no similar mental health evaluation is performed.

H.R. 4305, the Medical Evaluation Parity for Servicemembers Act, will bring mental health to parity with physical health through the enforcement of a mental health assessment for incoming military recruits.

On Suicide Prevention Day, I am calling on the Senate to pass this important legislation. Our servicemembers deserve as much

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