On the recordSeptember 15, 2016
I have tried, through words, to demonstrate the severity of our country's mental health crisis. Today I will try it again with numbers: 67,130, the number of Americans who have died from mental health issues since we passed the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act; 0.006 percent, the percentage of Americans who will suffer from addiction and are able to get help. That is six out of every 1,000; 1,625, the number of Americans who have died by suicide since September 1, the first day of Suicide Prevention Month. A final question as we close the week. If the Senate adjourns without passing H.R. 2646 to be signed into law, what clumsy, beltway babble will be used to comfort the thousands of families who will be told, ``We just didn't have time''? No words, no excuses work to bring someone back from the dead. Where there is no help, there is no hope. ____________________
