Florida 2022 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0063 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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10	10	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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14	14	House Memorial 1
15	15	A memorial to the Congress of the United States, 2
16	16	urging Congress to recognize the epidemic of suicide 3
17	17	among veterans and to fully fund suicide prevention 4
18	18	efforts by the United States Department of Veterans 5
19	19	Affairs. 6
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21	21	WHEREAS, according to the 2020 National Veteran Suicide 8
22	22	Prevention Annual Report by the United States Department of 9
23	23	Veterans Affairs, there were an average of 17.6 veteran suicide 10
24	24	deaths per day in 2018, totaling an average of 6,435 veteran 11
25	25	suicide deaths that year, and 12
26	26	WHEREAS, the department has found that veterans who die by 13
27	27	suicide are more likely than the civilian population to have 14
28	28	sleep disorders, traumatic brain injuries, or chronic pain 15
29	29	diagnoses in addition to mental health conditions such as 16
30	30	posttraumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, personality 17
31	31	disorder, substance use disorder, schizophrenia, depression, and 18
32	32	anxiety, and 19
33	33	WHEREAS, some veterans have reported difficulty in 20
34	34	transitioning to civilian employment, as their highly developed 21
35	35	skills obtained in military service may not translate to higher -22
36	36	level civilian jobs, and the resulting economic disparities, 23
37	37	unemployment, poverty, and homelessness among veterans are shown 24
38	38	to be risk factors for veteran suicide, and 25
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47	47	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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51	51	WHEREAS, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs' 26
52	52	Veteran Crisis Line is the world's largest provider of crisis 27
53	53	call, text, and chat services for veterans, receiving 28
54	54	approximately 650,000 calls per year, and 29
55	55	WHEREAS, the department has made significant progress in 30
56	56	the area of suicide prevention through clinical research, the 31
57	57	development and testing of evidence -based psychotherapy methods 32
58	58	and medications, and behavioral, complementary, and alternative 33
59	59	approaches to treating veterans with posttraumatic stress 34
60	60	disorder and other mental health conditions, and 35
61	61	WHEREAS, the department is partnered with hundreds of 36
62	62	national and local organizations and corporations, including 37
63	63	veterans service organizations, professional sports teams, and 38
64	64	major employers, in order to raise awareness of its suicide 39
65	65	prevention resources and to educate the public about supporting 40
66	66	veterans and servicemembers in their communities, and 41
67	67	WHEREAS, although RAND Corporation studies have found that 42
68	68	the United States Department of Veterans Affairs outperforms 43
69	69	other systems in the area of mental health care, the rising 44
70	70	trend in veteran suicides continues to plague the men and women 45
71	71	who selflessly served in the United States Armed Forces and to 46
72	72	devastate their families, friends, and loved ones, NOW, 47
73	73	THEREFORE, 48
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75	75	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 50
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84	84	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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89	89	That the Congress of the United States is urged to 52
90	90	recognize the current crisis of veteran suicide and to fully 53
91	91	fund suicide prevention ef forts undertaken by the United States 54
92	92	Department of Veterans Affairs. 55
93	93	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be 56
94	94	dispatched to the President of the United States, to the 57
95	95	President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the 58
96	96	United States House of Representatives, and to each member of 59
97	97	the Florida delegation to the United States Congress. 60