“Every day in the United States, 22 veterans succumb to suicide — losing their personal battle to invisible wounds of war.”
–Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), news release, Jan. 13, 2015
“When you have 8,000 veterans a year committing suicide, then you have a serious problem.”
–Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), news article, Feb. 2, 2015
“Every day, approximately 22 American veterans commit suicide, totaling over 8,000 veteran suicides each year — I repeat, 8,000 veteran suicides each year.”
–Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Senate hearing, Feb. 3, 2015
Both chambers unanimously passed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, sending the bill to the president for his signature. The bill aims to improve mental-health and suicide-prevention services at the Department of Veterans Affairs. It is named after a former Marine sniper who committed suicide in March 2011 after struggling to receive mental-health care at the Houston Veterans Affairs medical center.
The statistic that there are 22 veteran suicides each day — or, more than 8,000 when multiplied by the number of days in a year — is a widely cited figure in reference to veteran suicides. It’s been used by Democratic and Republican lawmakers in both chambers, the VA, veteran groups and media outlets (including, in full disclosure, the author of this fact check).