Jim Banks: “Let me first thank the gentleman from Florida for his continued efforts to support our veterans. As a proud member of…”

“Let me first thank the gentleman from Florida for his continued efforts to support our veterans. As a proud member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, it is great to work on such a bipartisan committee with Ranking Member Walz and other members who care deeply about our American veterans. Mr. Speaker, sadly, every single day 20 veterans take their own lives. In 1 year, the total is nearly as many people who live in my hometown of Columbia City, Indiana. Veterans account for 18 percent of suicides, even though they are only 8\1/2\ percent of the total population. Our female veterans are 2\1/2\ times more likely to commit suicide than civilian women. We can't allow this to continue. Just one veteran suicide a day is a horrible tragedy, let alone 20. Our veterans were vigilant in fighting for our freedoms. We must be just as vigilant in fighting for their needs. Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today seeks to enable the VA's Veterans Crisis Line, or VCL, to be even more effective in this fight. As has already been mentioned, since 2007, it has fielded nearly 2.8 million calls and 67,000 text messages. But there is no overarching approach to ensure the VA knows the effectiveness of the VCL in preventing future suicide attempts after the initial phone call or how well the crisis line connects veterans to the mental healthcare services of the VA.…”