[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12155]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        SUICIDE PREVENTION MONTH

  (Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, the death toll due to mental 
illness continues to climb. Yesterday we lost another 118 lives to 
suicide, and this brings the total lives lost since passage of H.R. 
2646 to 7,670.
  We lost another 959 lives to mental illness, bringing the total of 
lives lost to 62,355 since House passage of my bill in July. If nothing 
is done today, then tomorrow we will lose more. By Monday, another 
2,800.
  I hope my colleagues in the Senate are moved to action by this 
continued loss of lives, which is preventable. But if it's popularity, 
approval ratings, or upcoming elections that our friends are worried 
about, my friends should know that most Americans believe the country 
is losing ground in dealing with mental health. In fact, 83 percent of 
the country thinks so, according to a national mental health survey.
  Mr. Speaker, how high does the death toll need to climb before the 
Senate decides to act? We only have a few legislative days left in 
September. We can either spend that time reading more obituaries or 
news clips of tragedies or passage of H.R. 2646. It is absolutely clear 
that America wants us to act now. The question is: Will the Senate 
finally act and bring treatment before tragedy?

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