Denver — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet cosponsored a bipartisan Senate resolution led by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) to designate Sunday, November 13th as National Warrior Call Day. National Warrior Call Day follows Veterans Day and encourages Americans to call and check in with veterans in their communities to strengthen support of veteran suicide prevention and mental health.
“We have an obligation to support the men and women in uniform who have sacrificed so much to serve our country and keep us safe,” said Bennet. “I encourage all Coloradans to reach out to the veterans in their communities to let them know they’re not alone. One call can save a life. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure our servicemembers and veterans have the suicide prevention resources and mental health care they need.”
Bennet has worked extensively with his bipartisan colleagues to address our nation’s ongoing mental and behavioral health crisis. In September 2021, Bennet released a whitepaper entitled ‘A Bold Vision for America’s Mental Well-being’ with U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) outlining a new bipartisan framework for reimagining and redesigning how mental and behavioral health care is delivered in the United States. It calls for a bold, unified national strategy that is based on smart resource planning and funding, and addresses the country’s mental and behavioral health crisis through local community needs.
This June, Bennet took to the Senate floor to urge his colleagues to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which invests in mental and behavioral health and includes funding for the 9-8-8 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. In September, Bennet pressed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to swiftly implement the BCSA provision to update Medicaid guidance on providing health care, including mental and behavioral health services, in school-based settings.
In addition to Bennet, Shaheen, and Cotton, the resolution is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Angus King (I-Maine), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Cynthia M. Lummis (R-Wyo.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and John Cornyn (R-Texas).
The text of the resolution is available HERE.