Political Quotes

“I thank my colleague from Arizona for putting this together. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the epidemic of veterans who not only commit, but consider, suicide. I again want to address what my colleague talked about, the quote of ``too trapped in a war to be at peace, too damaged to be at war.'' These are the words left behind by the soldier, Daniel, who tragically took his own life a few months ago. Daniel was one of many who had been affected by PTSD and who had come back from war with suicidal thoughts. This is an epidemic among our servicemen and -women, and it must be stopped. Again, it is estimated that more than 22 veterans take their lives each day. That's 30 percent of all veterans who have considered suicide. In Florida's Third Congressional District alone, there are over 120,000 veterans, which means, according to current data, about 36,000 veterans in my district have thought about suicide. This is unacceptable, and we must remedy this. We need to do all we can for those who have sacrificed the most for our Nation, and that cannot just extend to the battlefield. We must continue to take care of our soldiers when they come back home. That includes setting up programs to help veterans deal with PTSD and other psychological issues so they can get the proper help they need. We have to make veteran suicide prevention a priority, and I, along with my colleagues, will work tirelessly towards that end.…”