[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 70 (Thursday, April 22, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H2060]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  FULL ACCESS TO BENEFITS FOR VETERANS

  (Ms. UNDERWOOD asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, as a registered nurse and a member of the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee, I have spent my time in Congress fighting 
to ensure that northern Illinois veterans and veterans across the 
Nation have full access to the benefits and support that they have 
earned.
  A critical part of that work has been focusing on ending the veteran 
suicide crisis by providing veterans with the resources they need and 
equipping VA employees and community partners with the training 
necessary to support veterans in crisis.
  That is why, this week, I reintroduced the bicameral Lethal Means 
Safety Training Act with Senator Blumenthal and Representatives 
Brownley, Mrvan, Levin, and Pappas.
  This legislation is an evidence-based approach to prevent suicide, 
and it creates valuable time and space between a veteran in crisis and 
a potentially lethal means.
  I am honored that my bill has been endorsed by a broad coalition of 
veterans service organizations and suicide prevention experts, 
including: The Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs, the American 
Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Minority Veterans of America, 
the American Association of Suicidology, and many more.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Lethal Means Safety 
Training Act and join me in the urgent mission of ending our veteran 
suicide crisis.

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