[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 183 (Tuesday, December 8, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H13554-H13555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         WE'RE NOT DOING ENOUGH

  (Mr. TEAGUE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. TEAGUE. Madam Speaker, Congressional Quarterly recently reported 
that more American military personnel have taken their own lives in 
2009 than have been killed in either the Afghanistan or Iraq wars this 
year, with 334 members of the military service committing suicide. This 
staggering number means one thing. We're not doing enough.
  We're not doing enough to provide adequate mental health care for our 
returning servicemembers. The National Defense Authorization Act of 
2009 was

[[Page H13555]]

recently signed into law with a provision that I championed that 
requires mental health screening for all servicemembers returning from 
combat. This is the single most effective thing we can do to identify 
cases of mental illness, reduce the stigma of mental illness, and 
ensure our brave men and women in uniform receive the treatment they 
need and deserve for mental illness. However, we don't have enough 
mental health professionals to carry out these screenings.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in increasing mental health funding 
and making sure the Defense Department and VA hire the mental health 
professionals they need to keep our servicemembers well.

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