[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13873]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION WEEK

  (Mr. STEWART asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. STEWART. Mr. Speaker, today I want to address a topic of grave 
and tragic importance. Every 12 minutes in the United States we 
experience a suicide-related death; and, shockingly, for every suicide 
death, there are 25 attempts.
  These are heartbreaking statistics and, sadly, they hit very close to 
home. In Utah, for example, we have the fifth highest rate of suicide 
deaths in the country. These are our neighbors, our coworkers, and, in 
some cases, our family and our friends.
  I think that most of us, if not all of us, have been touched by some 
of these tragic stories, and I believe that we have a responsibility to 
do everything we can to help those in need. That is why I introduced 
the National Suicide Improvement Act earlier this year. This bill hopes 
to streamline and provide easy access to potentially lifesaving 
resources by designing a new, national three-digit dialing number 
similar to 911 for a national suicide prevention and mental health 
crisis hotline.
  I believe this legislation has the ability to save lives and to 
benefit our loved ones who struggle with mental illness or suicidal 
thoughts. Let us do everything we can to help our fellow citizens who 
are in need, and that is what this legislation will do.

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