Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her Special Order tonight. The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis bill is something the House passed 422-2, and I sure hope the Senate takes it up. I keep hearing they may think they don't have time. But I don't know how we tell a family that has lost someone to suicide--whether it be a civilian or a soldier--that the Senate didn't have time and they went home. Since September 1, the first day of National Suicide Prevention Month, so far this month, 1,416 Americans have died by suicide, including 240 veterans. That is 118 people a day, 22 veterans a day. That also means that every 12 minutes, a person dies by suicide; one veteran every hour. That also means that every hour, a new family is grieving, or every 13 minutes, a new family is grieving on something we hope we could have prevented. And certainly H.R. 2646 will have many things in there to prevent many deaths. I want to read a story about one veteran to convey the struggle he had. This is Sergeant Daniel Somers who bravely served under Operation Iraqi Freedom. When he returned home, he had PTSD pretty significantly and depression and traumatic brain injury. He was 30 years old. His parents gave me permission to share his letter where he said: ``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.…”