Steven Holt: “I thank my good friend, Judge Hastings, for his friendship, his consideration, and his assistance during my time here in…”

“I thank my good friend, Judge Hastings, for his friendship, his consideration, and his assistance during my time here in Congress. And I am pleased to recognize the very fine Member, my good friend, Representative Cole from Oklahoma. I will speak later, at another time, about the appropriations bill on the legislative branch. I now want to speak in support of the Military Construction, VA and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. For 4 years in a row, the Appropriations Committee has placed in the bill an additional $20 million for suicide prevention and mental health outreach services. Several people have made this possible, starting with my New Jersey colleague, Representative Runyan, who has worked with me very closely and in a very bipartisan way on this issue over the last 4 years. I want to thank the subcommittee chair, Representative Culberson, and Ranking Member Bishop for their steady support of our efforts; and of course to the full committee leaders, Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Lowey, for their support. Since 2012, the committee has increased funding for suicide prevention and outreach by $120 million overall at the request of Representative Runyan and me and other Members who have joined us in this effort, but our work on this issue is far from over.…”