{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://lynch.house.gov/2021/11/chairman-lynch-examines-strategies-to-prevent-suicide-among-u-s-servicemembers-and-veterans", "Chairman Lynch Examines Strategies to Prevent Suicide Among U.S. Servicemembers and Veterans", "2021-11-18", "2021", "2021-11", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Stephen F. Lynch", "L000562", "lynch.house.gov", "lynch", "https://lynch.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington D.C. \u2014 Yesterday, U.S. Representative Stephen F. Lynch, Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, held a hearing to examine how the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and community organizations are working to strengthen mental health and curb the alarming rate of suicides among our nation\u2019s military servicemembers and veterans.\n\n\u201cThe suicide epidemic among our military and veteran communities is an enduring public health crisis that also carries profound implications for U.S. national security,\u201d Rep. Lynch said in his opening statement.\n\nThe Subcommittee heard testimony from Alyssa Hundrup, Director of Health Care at the Government Accountability Office; Brigadier General (ret.) Jack Hammond, Executive Director of Home Base; Dr. Carla Stumpf-Patton, Senior Director for Postvention Programs at Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors; and Staff Sergeant (ret.) Johnny Jones, member of the Board of Directors for Boot Campaign.\n\nThe hearing was personal for Members and witnesses, who shared their own experiences of losing a loved one to suicide and why that has driven them to help military servicemembers, veterans, and their families.\n\nRep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Oversight and Reform Committee, shared that after her brother returned from military service during the Vietnam War, he struggled for years and later took his own life. She explained, \u201cThat was years ago, but the pain of my brother\u2019s passing is still with me today.\u201d\n\nRep. Mark DeSaulnier, who lost his father, a Marine veteran, to suicide, discussed the importance of removing perceived stigmas for family members who have lost someone to suicide, stating \u201cthe way we avoid it is not to try and repress it as a culture, but to accept it\u2014not that it has to happen, but we can address it.\u201d\n\nDr. Stumpf-Patton testified about the loss of her husband to suicide, stating that after his death, she felt \u201ccompletely alone, with no direction on surviving my devastating loss.\u201d She added, \u201cSo many times, I just stopped looking for help. Rather than asking for support, after being turned away time and time again, I just had to find ways to manage on my own.\u201d\n\nStaff Sergeant Jones shared that his best friend in high school, a fellow Marine, died by suicide in 2012 after not receiving sufficient help from the VA and deciding that \u201ctaking his own life was the only way to ensure he no longer hurt or let down those he loved.\u201d\n\nMembers and witnesses discussed the need for the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to work collaboratively with private-sector organizations to address the many complex risk factors that can contribute to suicide.\n\nBrigadier General Hammond testified the Biden Administration\u2019s new Military and Veterans\u2019 Suicide Prevention Strategy is \u201cspot on\u201d but must be followed quickly by \u201cactionable plans and funding strategies\u201d to expand access to mental health care.\n\nIn response to a question from Chairman Lynch, Dr. Stumpf-Patton testified that \u201cSuicide is a very complex, widespread problem that cannot be ... answered or responded to with any one single agency or organization. Ms. Hundrup added that there is \u201cnot one single entity that\u2019s going to solve this\u201d and that further examination of how the VA and DOD engage with community-based partners \u201cwould certainly be warranted.\u201d\n\nWitnesses testified that military family members who lose a loved one to suicide experience significant grief, trauma, and require greater support and care.\n\nBrigadier General (ret.) Hammond testified that \u201cit is clear that we have millions of military family members deeply affected by the physical and invisible wounds of war.\u201d In response to a question from Rep. DeSaulnier, he added that military families are \u201csome of the most injured people we deal with\u2014far more than any Navy SEAL or Green Beret.\u201d\n\nDr. Stumpf-Patton testified that \u201cthe emotional crisis\u201d experienced by servicemembers and veterans who die by suicide does \u201cnot simply disappear with their suicide, but rather is often transferred and absorbed by those coping with the death.\u201d\n\nSUICIDE PREVENTION RESOURCES\n\nThere are specially trained responders ready to help servicemembers and veterans 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.\n\nServicemembers and veterans can:\n\nDial 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1 to talk to someone;\n\nSend a text message to 838255 to connect with a VA responder;\n\nStart a confidential online chat session at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.\n\nThe National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is also available 24/7 for anyone at 800-273-8255.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:30:49Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://lynch.house.gov/2021/11/chairman-lynch-examines-strategies-to-prevent-suicide-among-u-s-servicemembers-and-veterans"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.76661042496562, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}