[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1528 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1528
Recognizing suicide as a serious public health problem and expressing
support for the designation of September, 2026, as ``National Suicide
Prevention Month'' as well as September 10, 2026, as ``World Suicide
Prevention Day''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 10, 2026
Mr. Thanedar (for himself, Mr. Bell, Mr. Lawler, Mr. Carson, Ms. Chu,
Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Mr. Fitzpatrick,
Mrs. Foushee, Mr. Gottheimer, Mr. Landsman, Ms. Matsui, Ms. Moore of
Wisconsin, Ms. Norton, Ms. Salinas, Ms. Sewell, and Mrs. Watson
Coleman) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing suicide as a serious public health problem and expressing
support for the designation of September, 2026, as ``National Suicide
Prevention Month'' as well as September 10, 2026, as ``World Suicide
Prevention Day''.
Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (in this
preamble referred to as the ``CDC''), suicide was among the top 10
leading causes of death for people aged 10 to 64 in 2024;
Whereas, according to the CDC, suicide was the second leading cause of death for
people aged 10 to 34 in 2024;
Whereas, according to the CDC, in 2024, suicide was responsible for 48,824
deaths, or about 1 death every 11 minutes;
Whereas the number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher;
Whereas, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration's (in this preamble referred to as ``SAMHSA'') 2024
National Survey on Drug Use and Health Report, an estimated 14,300,000
adults had serious thoughts about suicide, 4,600,000 planned a suicide
attempt, and 2,200,000 attempted suicide in 2024;
Whereas, according to SAMHSA, 2,600,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17 had serious
thoughts of suicide, 1,200,000 made a suicide plan, and 700,000
attempted suicide in the previous year;
Whereas, according to SAMHSA, trends among adolescents aged 12 to 17 reporting
having serious thoughts about suicide, making a suicide plan, and
attempting suicide have decreased from 2021 to 2024;
Whereas estimates among adolescents are likely to be skewed due to additional
response options beyond those given to adults;
Whereas according to the Department of Veterans Affairs' (in this preamble
referred to as the ``VA'') 2026 National Veteran Suicide Prevention
Annual Report, 6,398 veterans died by suicide in 2023;
Whereas, according to the VA, suicide was the 2nd leading cause of death among
veterans aged 45 or under and the 12th leading cause of death for
veterans overall in 2023;
Whereas, according to the VA, the average number of veterans who died by suicide
per day rose from 16.4 in 2001 to 17.5 in 2023;
Whereas, according to the VA, among veterans with documented Veterans Crisis
Line contact in 2021, the suicide rate in the following month was 22.5
percent lower than in 2019;
Whereas, according to the VA, the number of veterans who died by suicide in
2023, was lower than in 14 of the previous 15 years, reflecting recent
momentum in suicide prevention efforts;
Whereas, according to the National Institutes of Health, men are more likely to
die by suicide, as the number of suicide-related deaths was nearly 4
times higher among men than among women in 2024;
Whereas studies show that suicide is one of the leading causes of death during
pregnancy until the first year postpartum;
Whereas studies show that suicide is a leading cause of maternal mortality,
accounting for up to 20 percent of postpartum deaths in the United
States;
Whereas because the widely accepted definition of maternal mortality excludes
suicide, actual rates may be higher;
Whereas, according to the CDC, suicide and nonfatal self-harm costs the United
States an estimated $500,000,000,000 each year in combined medical,
work-loss, and societal value-of-life costs;
Whereas the stigma associated with mental health conditions and suicidal
ideation hinders suicide prevention by discouraging at-risk individuals
from seeking lifesaving help; and
Whereas September is an appropriate month to designate as ``National Suicide
Prevention Month,'' aligning with ``World Suicide Prevention Day'' on
September 10, 2026, a date recognized internationally and supported by
the World Health Organization: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes suicide as a preventable national public
health problem of the United States and each State;
(2) supports the designation of ``National Suicide
Prevention Month'';
(3) supports the designation of ``World Suicide Prevention
Day'';
(4) declares suicide prevention as a priority;
(5) acknowledges that no single suicide prevention program
or effort will be appropriate for all populations or
communities;
(6) recognizes that there is no single cause for suicide
and that suicide is most often an impulsive act that occurs
during a moment of overwhelming hopelessness and despair;
(7) recognizes that mental health is equally as important
as physical health; and
(8) supports the development and implementation of
strategies to increase access to quality mental health,
substance abuse, and suicide prevention services.
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