Jackie Speier: “I say to my colleagues, this is a really important amendment. This deals with suicide and securing guns. This program…”

“I say to my colleagues, this is a really important amendment. This deals with suicide and securing guns. This program will be a pilot. It will be at five installations. It will be voluntary. It is bipartisan and bicameral. Senator Dan Sullivan is my co-lead on the Senate side. It is already in the Senate NDAA. The NRA is satisfied with this amendment. So what does it do? This year, my subcommittee has spent over 100 hours on the issue of suicide in the military. I have personally spoken to parents and spouses of servicemembers who have died by suicide. {time} 2300 We have seen an extraordinary increase in suicide in our Active-Duty servicemembers, some 40 percent increase in the past 5 years, and we have hot spots in areas like Alaska and on the USS George Washington, where most recently seven sailors have died by suicide. In Alaska we have seen the suicide rate double in 2021. Since then, I have traveled to Alaska with Senator Sullivan to visit soldiers in Anchorage and Fairbanks. We have heard from junior enlisted soldiers who feel isolated, stressed out, and disconnected, who must wait 2 to 3 months to see a behavioral health provider. The providers are overwhelmed by demand from suicidal servicemembers. It is a challenging problem. Earlier in March, the subcommittee had a hearing, and one of the experts said that one of the best things we can do is deal with the issue that many persons who are contemplating suicide are making that decision impulsively.…”