A resolution recognizing suicide as a serious public health problem and expressing support for the designation of September as "National Suicide Prevention Month".

III 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. RES. 738 Recognizing suicide as a serious public health problem and expressing support for the designation of September as ‘‘National Suicide Prevention Month’’. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 30 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 29), 2020 Mr. CASSIDY (for himself and Mr. MURPHY) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Recognizing suicide as a serious public health problem and expressing support for the designation of September as ‘‘National Suicide Prevention Month’’. Whereas suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and the second leading cause of death among individuals between 10 and 34 years of age; Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘CDC’’), 1 individual in the United States dies by suicide every 11 minutes, resulting in around 48,000 deaths each year in the United States; Whereas, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 20 members of the Armed Forces on active duty, mem- bers of the reserve components of the Armed Forces who VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:54 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR738.ATS SR738 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 738 ATS are not on active duty, or veterans die by suicide each day, resulting in more than 7,000 deaths each year; Whereas, between 1999 and 2018, the suicide rate in the United States increased by 35 percent from 10.5 suicides for every 100,000 individuals to 14.2 suicides for every 100,000 individuals; Whereas it is estimated that there are approximately 1,400,000 suicide attempts each year in the United States; Whereas more than half of individuals who die by suicide did not have a known mental health condition; Whereas, according to the CDC, many factors contribute to suicide among individuals with and without known men- tal health conditions, including challenges related to rela- tionships, substance use, physical health, and stress re- garding work, money, legal problems, or housing; Whereas, according to the CDC, suicide results in an esti- mated $70,000,000,000 each year in combined medical and work-loss costs in the United States; Whereas the stigma associated with mental health conditions and suicidality hinders suicide prevention by discouraging at-risk individuals from seeking life-saving help and can further traumatize survivors of suicide loss and individ- uals with lived experience of suicide; Whereas the COVID–19 pandemic has caused many individ- uals to experience emotional distress and anxiety; Whereas, according to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of the CDC, risk factors for suicide, such as anx- iety and depression, have increased considerably since the onset of restrictions to help slow the spread of COVID– 19; and VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:54 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR738.ATS SR738 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 738 ATS Whereas September is an appropriate month to designate as ‘‘National Suicide Prevention Month’’ because September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day, a day recognized internationally and supported by the World Health Orga- nization: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) recognizes suicide as a serious and prevent- 2 able public health problem of the United States and 3 each State; 4 (2) supports the designation of September as 5 ‘‘National Suicide Prevention Month’’; 6 (3) declares suicide prevention as a priority; 7 (4) acknowledges that no single suicide preven- 8 tion program or effort will be appropriate for all 9 populations or communities; 10 (5) promotes awareness that there is no single 11 cause of suicide; and 12 (6) supports strategies to increase access to 13 high-quality mental health and suicide prevention 14 services and substance-use disorder treatments. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:54 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR738.ATS SR738 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS