[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 154 (Tuesday, September 24, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H7892]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             SUICIDE TRENDS

  (Ms. DEAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DEAN. Madam Speaker, I, too, rise on the issue of suicide.
  Every day in America, 129 people die by suicide. Over a single year, 
that is more than 47,000 souls, each an irreplaceable loss.
  Even more troubling, suicide is on the rise among teens, vets, and 
law enforcement. Between 2001 and 2017, the suicide rate increased by 
31 percent. That year, 2017, saw 1.4 million suicide attempts in this 
country.
  These trends have many causes, and we must get to the bottom of them, 
but we can start saving lives today.
  Congress recently passed the STOIC Act, and the President signed it 
into law. This bipartisan bill will fund suicide prevention programs 
for law enforcement, where deaths by suicide now outstrip line-of-duty 
deaths.
  Gun safety legislation will also make a difference. Firearms kill 
40,000 people each year, including 60 percent to suicide.
  Background checks and red flag laws save lives, but the Senate and 
the President have refused to act. We must call out their absence of 
action. Our country needs them to stand up.
  Our own colleague, Representative Susan Wild, recently lost her 
partner to suicide and has bravely described its devastating effects 
and now lifts her strong voice so that others will not suffer the same.
  Madam Speaker, it is time for us to act.

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