Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, GLSMA, Reauthorization. Six years ago, my former colleague Senator Gordon Smith and I introduced the original GLSMA to address the public health challenge of youth suicide by providing funding to states, Indian tribes, colleges, and universities to develop suicide prevention and intervention programs. Our bill made great strides in combating the growing problem of youth suicide. However, our work remains unfinished. For this reason, joined by colleagues Senator Jack Reed, Senator Richard Durbin, and Senator Tom Udall, I am introducing a reauthorization bill to strengthen the existing Federal, State, and local efforts. Last year, more than 4,000 Americans between the ages of 15 to 24 died by suicide, making suicide the third leading cause of death for this age group and the second leading cause of death among college students. These numbers are devastating. During an economic crisis, the situation is becoming more dire for young adults across the country. Over the past two years, we have seen a substantial increase of calls into suicide crisis centers. Many of these centers are threatened with cutbacks in funding from State and local governments. Despite the success of GLSMA, the latest Indian Health Service numbers show that suicide is the second leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native youth ages 10-24.…”