Press Releases

Today, Ranking Member Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.) released the following video encouraging every person and organization to help prevent veteran suicide:

Below are Roe's Remarks:

Remarks As Prepared For Delivery:

20.

That’s approximately how many of our nation’s veterans, active-duty servicemembers, and members of the National Guard and Reserve commit suicide everyday. This has been true since the late 1990’s.

There has been little improvement to these rates despite significant increases in funding, staffing, programs, attention, and support for veteran mental health and suicide prevention both inside and outside of the VA healthcare system.  

I’m Phil Roe, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and I wanted to take a few moments to talk to you about how important preventing veteran suicide is to me.

Ensuring that our veterans receive the support and services they deserve is one of my highest priorities.

According to the most recent data, suicide rates are on the rise nationally and across the entire U.S. population.

Suicide is a complex issue with no single cause.

It is a national public health issue that affects people from all walks of life, not just Veterans, and occurs for a variety of reasons.

But just as there is no single cause of suicide, no single organization can end Veteran suicide alone.

VA needs the community to help.

We all have a role to play in preventing suicide among servicemembers and veterans in our communities.

Every person, system, and organization should ask themselves how they can help because, together, we can win this fight.

To learn more about how you can “Be There” for veterans, I encourage you to go to www.BeThereforVeterans.com.

We know that treatment works, and that recovery is possible, so we’re working hard to find ways to encourage veterans to connect with the care they need and deserve.