[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E90]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               ADVANCING RESEARCH TO PREVENT SUICIDE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 27, 2020

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4704, which 
advances the knowledge and understanding of issues that may be 
associated with several aspects of suicide, including intrinsic and 
extrinsic factors related to wellbeing, resilience, and vulnerability.
  The bill directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide for 
additional multidisciplinary research on the science of suicide.
  The fundamental research done by the NSF includes but is not limited 
to basic understanding of human social behavior, the neutral basis of 
human cognition, the basic understanding of cognitive, linguistic, 
social, cultural and biological processes related to human development 
across the lifespan, the basic understanding of perceptual, motor, and 
cognitive process, and their interaction in typical human behavior; and 
the basic understanding of the relevance of drug and alcohol abuse.
  The rate of Americans dying by suicide is on the rise, increasing 
from 10.7 to 14 deaths per 100,000 people from 2001 to 2017.
  In the UK, the rate of death by suicide per 100,000 people is 11.2, 
in Canada, 11.3, and in Japan, 14.3.
  In 2019, the number of deaths per 100,000 people by suicide in Texas 
was 13.8, which is relatively high compared to the national high of 14.
  Suicide among seniors over the age of 85 in Texas is the highest, 
with a rate of 19.2 deaths per 100,000 people.
  In 2017, there were an estimated 1.4 million suicide attempts and 
more than 47,000 deaths by suicide nationwide.
  Currently, suicide is the tenth-leading cause of death among people 
in the United States and the second-leading cause of death for young 
people between the ages of 15 and 34.
  Societal costs including lifetime medical care and lost work costs 
associated with suicide are estimated at $70 billion.
  Ninety percent of all people who died by suicide in Harris County 
were suffering from a mental illness at the time, most often 
depression.
  The NSF funds will support research that can improve our basic 
understanding of factors with potential relevance to suicide, including 
prevention and treatment.
  The rate of suicide is far too high in the United States and we must 
be more aware of the issue in order to take preventative action.
  I ask my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to join me in voting 
in support of H.R. 4704.

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