Pelosi Statement on House Passage of Bipartisan Veteran Suicide Prevention Bill
Contact: Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616
Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi today released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 203, the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (SAV) Act, bipartisan legislation that addresses the epidemic of suicide among America's veterans.
"America's veterans need and deserve the critical support that can help prevent suicide. With more than 8,000 veterans – about twenty-two each day – taking their own lives, we need urgent action to address this tragedy. Originally passed by the House and blocked by a single U.S. Senator late in the 113th Congress, the bipartisan Clay Hunt SAV Act – named in honor of late Iraq and Afghanistan War Veteran and suicide prevention advocate Marine Corporal Clay Hunt, who committed suicide in 2011 after unsuccessful efforts to get help – represents critical progress for our veterans, military families, and caregivers by expanding access and coordinating our efforts to provide the best mental health care to our returning heroes.
"As the House yet again swiftly approved this legislation, we are grateful for the determined advocacy of Corporal Hunt's parents, the resiliency of all veterans' mental health advocates, and the leadership of this bill's authors: Congressman Tim Walz, the highest-ranking enlisted soldier ever to serve in Congress, who introduced the bill; Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, a Purple Heart recipient and Iraq War veteran, who co-authored the bill; and Congressman Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
"We owe our veterans a sacred pledge: that just as the military leaves no one behind on the battlefield, we must leave no veteran behind here at home. As they fight the seen and unseen scars of war, it is our moral obligation to ensure that we are doing everything we can to support them, every day. We must continue to build on the bipartisan spirit behind this transformative legislation, so that we can continue to serve our veterans as well as they have served us."
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