[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 636 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 636

 Recognizing suicide as a serious public health problem and expressing 
    support for the designation of September as ``National Suicide 
                          Prevention Month''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 18, 2018

  Mr. Cassidy (for himself, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Schumer, Mr. 
 Reed, and Mr. Donnelly) submitted the following resolution; which was 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing suicide as a serious public health problem and expressing 
    support for the designation of September as ``National Suicide 
                          Prevention Month''.

Whereas suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States and the 
        second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 
        and 34;
Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (referred 
        to in this preamble as the ``CDC''), 1 person dies by suicide every 12.3 
        minutes, resulting in nearly 45,000 deaths each year in the United 
        States;
Whereas, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 20 members of the 
        Armed Forces on active duty, members of the reserve components of the 
        Armed Forces who are not on active duty, or veterans die by suicide each 
        day, resulting in more than 7,000 deaths each year;
Whereas the suicide rate in the United States has steadily increased every year 
        from 1999 through 2016;
Whereas it is estimated that there are more than 1,100,000 suicide attempts each 
        year in the United States;
Whereas more than half of individuals who die by suicide did not have a known 
        mental health condition;
Whereas, according to the CDC, many factors contribute to suicide among 
        individuals with and without known mental health conditions, including 
        challenges related to relationships, substance abuse, physical health, 
        and stress regarding work, money, legal problems, or housing;
Whereas, according to the CDC, suicide results in an estimated $44,600,000,000 
        in combined medical and work-loss costs in the United States each year;
Whereas the stigma associated with mental health conditions and suicidality 
        hinders suicide prevention by discouraging at-risk individuals from 
        seeking life-saving help and further traumatizes survivors of suicide 
        loss and people with lived experience of suicide; and
Whereas September is an appropriate month to designate as ``National Suicide 
        Prevention Month'' because September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day, 
        a day recognized internationally and supported by the World Health 
        Organization: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes suicide as a serious and preventable 
        national and State public health problem;
            (2) supports the designation of September as ``National 
        Suicide Prevention Month'';
            (3) declares suicide prevention as a priority;
            (4) acknowledges that no single suicide prevention program 
        or effort will be appropriate for all populations or 
        communities;
            (5) promotes awareness that there is no single cause of 
        suicide; and
            (6) supports strategies to increase access to high-quality 
        mental health, substance abuse, and suicide prevention 
        services.
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