IV 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 697 
Recognizing suicide as a serious public health problem and expressing support 
for the designation of September as ‘‘National Suicide Prevention Month’’ 
as well as September 10, 2025, as ‘‘World Suicide Prevention Day’’. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 10, 2025 
Mr. THANEDAR (for himself, Mr. LAWLER, Mr. BELL, Mrs. WATSON COLE-
MAN, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mrs. 
MCIVER, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. 
LANDSMAN, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. KELLY of Illi-
nois, Mr. RYAN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. KEATING, 
Ms. CHU, Mr. TRAN, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. NORTON, Mr. TORRES of New 
York, Ms. ANSARI, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Mr. 
FITZPATRICK, Ms. CRAIG, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. CARSON, Mr. MIN, Mr. 
MRVAN, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. FIELDS, Mr. DAVIS of Illi-
nois, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. BROWN, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. EVANS 
of Pennsylvania, Ms. PLASKETT, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Ms. WILLIAMS of Geor-
gia, Ms. FRIEDMAN, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, Mr. 
SCHNEIDER, Ms. SEWELL, and Mr. TONKO) submitted the following reso-
lution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing suicide as a serious public health problem and 
expressing support for the designation of September as 
‘‘National Suicide Prevention Month’’ as well as Sep-
tember 10, 2025, as ‘‘World Suicide Prevention Day’’. 
Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (in this resolution referred to as ‘‘CDC’’), sui-
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•HRES 697 IH 
cide was among the top 8 leading causes of death for 
people aged 10 to 64 in 2023; 
Whereas, according to the CDC, suicide was the second-lead-
ing cause of death for people aged 10 to 34 in 2023; 
Whereas, according to the CDC, in 2023, suicide was respon-
sible for 49,316 deaths, or about 1 death every 11 min-
utes; 
Whereas the number of people who think about or attempt 
suicide is even higher; 
Whereas, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental 
Health Services Administration’s (in this resolution re-
ferred to as ‘‘SAMHSA’’) 2024 National Survey on Drug 
Use and Health Report, an estimated 14,300,000 adults 
had serious thoughts about suicide, 4,600,000 planned a 
suicide attempt, and 1,700,000 attempted suicide in 
2024; 
Whereas, according to SAMHSA, 2,600,000 adolescents aged 
12 to 17 in the United States had serious thoughts of 
suicide, 1,200,000 made a suicide plan, and 700,000 at-
tempted suicide the previous year; 
Whereas, according to SAMHSA, trends among adolescents 
aged 12 to 17 reporting having serious thoughts about 
suicide, making a suicide plan, and attempting suicide 
have decreased from 2021 to 2024, reflecting meaningful 
progress in prevention efforts; 
Whereas the estimates among adolescents are likely to be 
skewed due to additional survey options beyond those 
given to adults; 
Whereas, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ 
(in this resolution referred to as ‘‘VA’’) 2024 National 
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•HRES 697 IH 
Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, 6,407 vet-
erans died by suicide in 2022; 
Whereas, according to the VA, suicide was the second-leading 
cause of death among veterans aged 45 or under and the 
12th-leading cause of death for veterans overall in 2022; 
Whereas, according to the VA, the average number of vet-
erans who died by suicide per day rose from 16.4 in 2001 
to 17.6 in 2022; 
Whereas, according to the VA, among veterans with docu-
mented Veterans Crisis Line contact in 2022, the suicide 
rate in the following month was 22.5 percent lower than 
in 2019; 
Whereas, according to the VA, the number of veterans who 
died by suicide in 2022 was lower than in 12 of the pre-
vious 14 years, reflecting meaningful progress in preven-
tion efforts; 
Whereas, according to the National Institutes of Health (in 
this resolution referred to as ‘‘NIH’’), men are more like-
ly to die by suicide; 
Whereas, according to the NIH, the suicide rate among men 
was four times higher than among women in 2022; 
Whereas additional research must be conducted to better un-
derstand the relationship between gender and suicide; 
Whereas studies have shown that suicide is one of the leading 
causes of death during pregnancy and the first year 
postpartum; 
Whereas studies show that suicide accounts for between 20 
and 39 percent of postpartum deaths, making suicide a 
leading cause of maternal mortality; 
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•HRES 697 IH 
Whereas the exclusion of suicide from the commonly accepted 
definition of maternal mortality creates a gap in data, 
and the actual rates may be higher; 
Whereas the stigma associated with mental health conditions 
and suicidal ideation hinders suicide prevention by dis-
couraging at-risk individuals from seeking lifesaving help; 
and 
Whereas September is an appropriate month to designate as 
‘‘National Suicide Prevention Month’’, aligning with 
‘‘World Suicide Prevention Day’’ on September 10, a 
date recognized internationally and supported by the 
World Health Organization: Now, therefore, be it; 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes suicide as a preventable national 
public health problem; 
(2) supports the designation of ‘‘National Sui-
cide Prevention Month’’; 
(3) supports the designation of ‘‘World Suicide 
Prevention Day’’; 
(4) declares suicide prevention as a priority; 
(5) acknowledges that no single suicide preven-
tion program or effort will be appropriate for all 
populations or communities; 
(6) recognizes that there is no single cause for 
suicide and that suicide is most often an impulsive 
act that occurs during a moment of overwhelming 
hopelessness and despair; 
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•HRES 697 IH 
(7) recognizes that mental health is equally as 
important as physical health; and 
(8) supports the development and implementa-
tion of strategies to increase access to quality mental 
health, substance abuse, and suicide prevention serv-
ices. 
Æ 
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