Political Quotes

“I know we are close to a vote on the Clay Hunt suicide prevention bill. As chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, who has just left the Veterans' Administration this morning after a 3-hour meeting with employees, I want to tell all of the Members of the Senate how much I appreciate their commitment to this bill, how much I would appreciate their vote in favor of this bill. Every day in America, 22 veterans commit suicide. Every year in America, 8,000 veterans commit suicide. Eight thousand is more than all who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last 13 years. Suicide is a critical problem in the VA. The Clay Hunt bill focuses and targets on what we need: more psychiatric care, more accountability in the VA, and an investment in the future of our soldiers who have come home after defending our country for ourselves. As chairman of the committee, I want to thank Senator McCain, Senator Blumenthal, Senator Boozman, and Senator Burr for their tremendous effort and work to bring this about. I want to thank the members of the committee who unanimously passed this out, including the Presiding Officer, in the very first meeting of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. I encourage every Member of the Senate to vote for the Clay Hunt suicide prevention bill and make an investment in the future of the lives we will save of our veterans who return with mental health problems. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.”