Political Quotes

“Late last month President Barack Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015, otherwise known as the NDAA. Included in the legislation was language directing the United States Department of Defense to study a mental health assessment for all incoming military recruits. This assessment would then be used as a baseline throughout the service careers of our servicemen and -women. This was included in the Medical Evaluation Parity for Servicemembers, or MEPS, Act, which I introduced earlier this year. Now, I believe this assessment is essential in addressing the suicide epidemic which has affected our military members and veterans over the past several years. Mr. Speaker, when it comes to suicide within the ranks of our American heroes, commissioned studies have been implemented by the Department of Defense in the past. We have found that, for over 60 percent of those individuals who attempt or commit suicide while serving in the military, it was not their first attempt. Their first attempt was before they joined the military. This is about pre-existing conditions that have failed to have been recognized. Mr. Speaker, if you are like me and you assume that it is what people see on the battlefield--I have been to Afghanistan. I have been to Iraq in the past. It is the horrors of war that drive people, largely, to suicide. But these studies, Mr.…”