Political Quotes

“I want to thank the gentleman for yielding, and I want to thank Congresswoman Sinema and Congressman Benishek for their leadership on this issue, which is also of prime interest to me, this epidemic of suicide in our veteran community. Mr. Speaker, San Diego has the third largest population of veterans in the country, more than 235,000. One of the most important jobs we have here in Congress is to honor their service by keeping our promises to them. September is Suicide Prevention Month, a time to focus on ending the scourge of veteran suicide that has hurt families and communities across the country. Combating suicide takes the full spectrum of services, including deployment, education, drug and alcohol abuse treatment, and ending the stigma around mental health. In San Diego, I am pleased to say, the nonprofit sector has really stepped up. We have been at the forefront of finding innovative ways to approach veteran suicide by providing services and developing cohesion in the local veteran community that came together after the Vietnam war to increase collaboration among government, private groups, and community partners. San Diego is the home of, in my district, 0800, which is an organization doing innovative work to assist easing the transition between Active Duty and civilian life.…”