[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 9, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H24]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR VETERANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania). The Chair 
recognizes the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Marshall) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address a very troubling 
issue, but also to tell the story of one of my high school classmates 
who is trying to make a difference.
  Mr. Speaker, every day, 22 veterans in the United States take their 
own lives. At this pace, veterans are committing suicide at a rate of 
19 percent higher than the general adult population. We, in Congress, 
will not turn a blind eye to these servicemembers in need of our 
support. This issue is a top clinical priority for the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, as well as for this Congress.
  In a unanimous vote, the House passed legislation that works for the 
VA to examine the effectiveness of the Veterans Crisis Line. I am also 
a proud cosponsor of the Oath of Exit Act written by my close friend 
and colleague, Congressman Brian Mast from Florida. This legislation 
will require all individuals retiring or separating from the Armed 
Forces to take a pledge not to harm themselves. But these actions alone 
are not enough, and more must be done to protect our servicemembers.
  To help our veterans with this mental health battle, we are now 
turning to our four-legged friends. Therapy dogs have a proven success 
record for helping our veterans tackle the physical and mental 
challenges that they face in their transitions back to civilian life.
  As I stand before the House today, I want to bring awareness to one 
organization that I am especially proud of, K94Heroes. This nonprofit 
group provides therapy dogs to our servicemen and -women who are in 
desperate need of compassion and support. I am overjoyed to see members 
of the community empowering our veterans and I am honored to say that 
this organization was founded in my home State, in my hometown, by one 
of my high school classmates, John ``Big Daddy'' Lipscomb.
  John founded the K94Heroes program after connecting with one of our 
other classmates, an elementary classmate, who specializes in service 
dog training for veterans. In 2015, John and his daughter established 
K94Heroes and raised private funds to mitigate training costs. 
Together, they work tirelessly to ensure every veteran who deserves a 
service dog receives one.
  We owe it to those who protected us abroad the assurance of 
protection here at home. With upstanding citizens like John ``Big 
Daddy'' Lipscomb and with continued action on the Federal level, we 
will be able to better protect our veterans who sacrifice so much for 
this country. Still, this Congress must make continued efforts toward 
veteran suicide prevention, and I commend the efforts of organizations 
such as K94Heroes.

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