United States Senator Mike Crapo - Idaho

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*DROPPING IN THIS ISSUE...**

-- Veterans Day Video

-- Bring Our
Heroes Home Act

-- Raising Concerns of Alarming Increase in
National Guard Suicide Rate

-- Launch of #MilitaryMonday

-- Coming Up:
Spirit of Freedom Award Presentations



Recognized on November
11 each year, Veterans Day honors all those who have served our
country in war or peace.
It is a day to thank the veterans in our lives for
their sacrifices.
Initially dubbed Armistice Day, November 11, 1918,
signaled Congress' official recognition of the end of World War
I.
Veterans have put their lives on the line for their country,
communities, fellow servicemembers and fellow Americans.
They have given much
for us to receive much.
One of the fundamental ways to respect
veterans' dedication is by providing full support for their service, not only
while deployed, but also when they return home.
Many reforms have
been enacted [link 1] in the last year, but my work to honor the service
of those in uniform continues.

Tomorrow, I'll release an Op-Ed
calling our nation to honor veterans beyond Veterans Day by supporting
their service beyond their deployment.
In the column, which you can
access HERE [link 2] tomorrow, I'll highlight Congress's recent actions
on legislation to improve veterans services.



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**Click the image above to view Senator Crapo's Veterans Day
message.**



*Bring Our Heroes Home*

The Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency (DPAA) lists 359 Idahoans as still missing or unaccounted for
during their service in the United States Armed Forces.
Our country
cannot waver on efforts to bring home America's missing
servicemembers, so I introduced legislation, with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-New
Hampshire), to provide for an expedited and consolidated process for
declassifying and collecting records of POW and MIA personnel.
We owe it
to the families and survivors of the brave women and men in uniform to
bring home their loved ones who sacrificed so much for our
country.
Over 82,000 Americans still remain missing, and their families deserve
some sense of resolution to the lingering questions that still fill
their lives.
Piecing together the circumstances, whereabouts and lives
of those lost cannot be easy, but bringing them home is critical to
honoring their service.
The Bring Our Heroes Home Act will prioritize
and facilitate the declassification of records related to missing
servicemembers, and aid in bringing them all home."

The Bring Our Heroes
Home Act, would consolidate all records related to missing personnel
within a newly instituted Missing Armed Forces Personnel Records
Collection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and
require all government agencies to transmit any records in their
possession pertaining to missing servicemembers to NARA.
The measure would
also establish an independent government office, the Missing Armed
Forces Personnel Records Review Board, to identify missing personnel
records, facilitate the transmission and disclosure of these records, and
review any decisions by federal agencies to postpone
declassification.



*Raising Concerns of Alarming Increase in National Guard
Suicide Rate*

According to the Department of Defense's (DOD) Annual
Suicide Report [link 4] for Calendar Year 2018, suicide rates in the
National Guard have surpassed those within the Active components.
The
suicide rate for members of the National Guard in 2018 was 30.6 suicides
per 100,000 population, compared to 24.8 suicides per 100,000
population in the Active component, and 22.9 suicides per population in the
Reserves.

This increase in the suicide rate for members of the
National Guard is alarming.
At an August roundtable discussion at the Boise
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, I heard directly from those working
with struggling servicemembers and veterans that this remains a
concern among Idahoans.
I re-committed to furthering efforts to ensure
National Guardsmen and women receive adequate mental health treatment for
their service.

In October, I joined a bipartisan group of Senate
colleagues in sending a letter [link 5] to the DOD expressing our
concerns with the high rate of suicide within the National Guard.
We
emphasized the unique position of National Guard servicemembers as both
soldiers and civilians that necessitates tailored solutions for accessing
mental health care and community-based support.
We requested a brief
[link 6] from the DOD no later than December 2019 that highlights any
gaps that remain across DOD, branch-level or interagency suicide
prevention programs for the National Guard.
Additionally, we requested
further analysis of any explanatory factors contributing to differences
in suicide rates between the Active and Reserve Component and the
National Guard.
We must ensure the National Guard has the care and
community comparable to the Active components.



*Launch of
#MilitaryMonday*

Starting tomorrow, I will begin a monthly social media
feature in which I will honor an Idahoan who has served our country in
uniform and who exemplifies the strong values of the United States Armed
Forces.
On the second Monday of each month, I will feature an Idaho
veteran, active duty military or member of the National Guard or
Reserves.
These men and women help make our nation strong and safe, and
recognizing and honoring them is only one way to express to them how much
they are valued.
Make sure to check out my social media platforms
below to see the first #MilitaryMonday recipient.
Thank you to all those
who continue to serve and those who served this great nation.




*Coming Up:*

Last Thursday, staff in my office began a series of
state-wide presentations to veterans and volunteers with the 2019 Spirit
of Freedom [link 7]: Idaho Veterans Service Award.
The award is a
small way to recognize and acknowledge the contributions of Idaho's
veterans and volunteers who support Idaho veterans.
The Spirit of Freedom
Award recognizes veterans and volunteers who set an example of
leadership and service in our communities and across our state.
To see
information about this year's recipients, as well as information about
presentations taking place tomorrow, visit my website by clicking here
[link 8].



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*Beverly McLendon (Left), a 2019
Spirit of Freedom Award recipient, with Kathryn Hitch (Right),
Senator Crapo Regional Director for the Idaho Falls region.*

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Contact Information:

Website:


Offices:
239 Dirksen Senate Building
Washington D.C., 20510

Phone: (202) 224-6142

Idaho Falls
410 Memorial Drive
Suite
205
Idaho Falls, ID 83402
Phone: (208) 522-9779

Boise
251 East
Front Street
Suite 205
Boise, ID 83702
Phone: (208) 334-1776


Lewiston
313 'D' Street
Suite 105
Lewiston, ID 83501
Phone: (208)
743-1492

Caldwell
524 East Cleveland Blvd.
Suite 220
Caldwell,
ID 83605
Phone: (208) 455-0360

Pocatello
275 South 5th
Avenue
Suite 100
Pocatello, ID 83201
Phone: (208) 236-6775

Coeur d'
Alene
610 Hubbard Street
Suite 209
Coeur d' Alene, ID 83814

Phone: (208) 664-5490

Twin Falls
202 Falls Avenue
Suite 2
Twin
Falls, ID 83301
Phone: (208) 734-2515

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