Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to speak to a very important piece of legislation, which quietly passed this Chamber last week. It included several provisions I authored and offered based upon my experience as a physician that specifically provides mental health support to America's veterans. We all agree, we owe the men and women who fought and fight for this country a tremendous debt of gratitude for the sacrifices they made to preserve our freedom. It is dangerous, and our servicemembers answer the call. Many carry scars from injuries sustained during that service. But there are scars that we cannot see. Service can take a physical toll but also a mental one. Too many veterans struggle with mental health issues and suicidal thoughts. About 17 veterans per day from all of our wars put together take their own lives. For comparison, 22 servicemembers were killed in combat in Afghanistan throughout all of 2019. We are losing thousands more veterans at home than we are losing fighting men and women in the field. That is something to ponder. We must do a better job of leading the mental health needs of veterans. Thankfully, this Chamber took a big step forward last week when we passed the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act. The bill improves outreach to veterans and offers new mental healthcare options in five major ways: First, the bill bolsters the VA's mental health workforce to serve more veterans.…”