Jackie Walorski: “Thank you, Mr. Benishek. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the distinguished gentleman from Michigan and the distinguished…”

“Thank you, Mr. Benishek. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the distinguished gentleman from Michigan and the distinguished gentlewoman from Arizona for yielding. In honor of Suicide Prevention Month, I rise today to increase awareness about some of our bravest and most at risk: our veterans. Many of our Nation's troops, both past and present, face struggles many of us can never imagine. Every day 22 veterans take their own lives. I have experienced this same tragedy in my own district. In 2013, a constituent in my district, a former marine who served in Vietnam, began experiencing severe pain over his entire body. After visiting four VA clinics and facilities, doctors could not diagnose his condition and instead prescribed morphine for ongoing and oftentimes excruciating pain. To help manage his undiagnosed condition, doctors recommended he enter a nursing home. Unfortunately, he discovered he did not meet the eligibility requirements. Later that day, his wife was told that she had 1 hour to pick him up or they, the VA, would send him home in a cab without clothes since he did not have any at the hospital to wear. Two days later, just a week before Christmas, the pain proved too great for him to bear and he took his own life. His story details the urgency our Nation's heroes deserve. Instead of ending in heartbreak, veterans and their families need to know their lives count, which is why we must improve veterans' access to physical and mental health care.…”