Floor Statement on Military Suicide Condolence Letters - May 27, 2010

Madame Speaker, throughout both democratic and republican administrations, the White House has maintained a policy against providing letters of condolence to the families of suicide victims.

This is a major issue for my constituents that I have been working on for months.

I have had a number of communications with the White House and the Department of Defense expressing their concerns.

And fortunately, the President was kind enough to send a personal letter of condolence to a local family that was affected by suicide.

I would like to wholeheartedly thank President Obama for this meaningful gesture.

And I encourage him to continue on this path, to finally overturn this misguided White House policy.

Our men and women in uniform sacrifice for our country-both physically and mentally.

But despite the occasional exception, the current policy ignores the sacrifice of these men and women, disregards the suffering of their families, and perpetuates a military culture that condemns mental illness instead of treating it.

It needs to be overturned.