May 2, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 72 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H3430]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   VETERAN SUICIDE--A NATIONAL CRISIS

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, as we enter the month of May, many of 
us will be gathering at the end of the month to honor and recognize 
those who have fallen.
  In mid-month, we will celebrate the mothers of this Nation, many of 
whom are veterans and who have died in battle.
  I rise today to speak about veteran suicide, and to view it as a 
national crisis. It is told that there are 20 veterans a day committing 
suicide.
  So, as I stand here today, tragically, a man or woman who has worn 
the uniform, who is willing to sacrifice himself or herself for this 
Nation, for the freedom of our people, for democracy, is taking their 
life.
  This is such a national crisis that I believe that this should be a 
major issue for all of us to ensure that we find the resources, 
including the resources for family members, early counseling, and a 
helping hand to ensure that those veterans who find themselves lonely 
or homeless and feel that there is no other way out but to commit 
suicide--many of them young--that we will find a way to legislate, but 
also to protect the men and women who stood for us.

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