Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, since September 1, the first day of National Suicide Prevention Month, 944 Americans have died by suicide, including 160 veterans. Since the passage of H.R. 2646, the mental health reform act, in the House of Representatives in July, 7,552 Americans have died from suicide, including 1,280 veterans. I had the honor of meeting the parents of Sergeant Daniel Somers, who served bravely in Operation Iraqi Freedom. On June 13, 2013, Daniel took his own life after suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injury. His family is heartbroken. He left a letter for his family before he took his own life, and I would like to share his words. He wrote: I am sorry that it has come to this. The fact is, for as long as I can remember, my motivation for getting up every day has been so that you would not have to bury me. As things have continued to get worse, it has become clear that this alone is not a sufficient reason to carry on. The fact is I am not getting better, I am not going to get any better, and I will most certainly deteriorate further as time goes on. From a logical standpoint, it is better to simply end things quickly and let any repercussions from that play out in the short term than to drag things out into the long term. I really have been trying to hang on for more than a decade now. Each day has been a testament to the extent to which I cared, suffering unspeakable horror as quietly as possible so that you could feel as though I was still here for you.…”