Cleaned our air and water, past the security and medicare passed Social Security and medicare. None of these changes happen overnight. It was not because a charismatic leader got everybody to agree on everything. It did not happen because of a massive political revolution. Actually happened over the course of years, of advocacy, and organizing. And alliance building. And dealmaking. And the changing of public opinion. It happened because ordinary americans who cared participated in the political process. [applause] so [applause] thats nice, i helped. [laughter] look, if you want to change this country for the better, you better start participating. I will give you an example on a lot of peoples minds, the growing inequality in our economy. Over much of the last century, we have unleashed the strongest economic engine the world has ever seen, but over the past two decades our economy has become more and more unequal. The top 10 of earners taken half of all income in the u. S. Ceo made 20 a top times the average worker. Today, it is 300 times. Fors are not rising families. If we want to reverse those trends, there are a bunch of policies that would make a big difference. We could raise the minimum wage. [applause] we could modernize our infrastructure. We can make college more affordable. [applause] we can give tax breaks to help families with childcare or retirement. Things, weid these would help to restore the sense of hard workers and build an economy that works for everybody. The reason some of these things have not happened, even though the majority of people approve, is really simple. It is not because i wasnt proposing them. The facts anduse evidence showed they would our. It was because a huge chunk of americans, especially young people, do not vote. Voter turnout was the lowest since world war ii. He was than one in five young people showed up to vote. 2014. The four who stayed home determined the course of this country as much as the one who voted. It determines who are congress is, what policies they prioritize. It even, for example, the terms whether a fully highly qualified Supreme Court nominee receives the courtesy of a vote in the United States senate. [applause] money in politics is a huge problem. We have got to reduce its influence. Yes, special interest and lobbyists have is proportional access had this portion disproportionate access. The system is not as rigged as you think and is not as hopeless as you think. Vote and elect a majority that represents the majority of your views, you will get what you want. If you opt out or stop paying attention, you wont. It is that simple. It is not that complicated. [applause] one of the reasons people do not vote is because they do not see the changes they were looking for right away. Well guess what, none of the great moments in our history happened right away. Decades to wincp brown v board of education. More time after that for it to start working. It took a proud daughter in new jersey years of organizing marches and hunger strikes and protests and drafting hundreds of pieces of legislation and working with congressional leaders before she and other suffragists helped win women the vote. [applause] each phase along the way required compromise. Sometimes you took half. You forged allies. Sometimes he lost on an issue and came back to fight another day. That is how democracy works. You have got to he committed to participating not just to get immediate gratification, you have to be of citizen fulltime, all the time. If participation means voting and compromise and organizing and advocacy, it also means listening to those who do not agree with you. I know a couple of years ago, folks on this campus got upset that condoleezza was supposed to speak at commencement. At a think its a secret that i disagree with her. The notion that this community or country would not be served by hearing her or shutting out what she had to say, i believe that is misguided. I dont think thats how democracy works best, when we not even willing to listen to each other. [applause] i believe that is misguided. If you disagree with somebody, them toughin and ask questions. Hold their feet to the fire and make them defend their positions. Or offensivea bad idea, prove it wrong. Stand up for what you believe in. Dont be scared to take somebody on. Dont feel like you got to check your ears off because you are too fragile and somebody might offend your sensibilities. Go at them. If they are not making any sense. Use your logic and reason and words. You will strengthen your position and hone your arguments and maybe you will learn something and realize you do not know everything and you may have a new understanding, not only of what your opponents believe, but what you believe. Either way, you win. And more importantly, our democracy wins. [applause] so, anyway, all right. That is it, class of 2016. A few suggestions on how you can change the world. Except maybe i have one last suggestion. Just one. [applause] haul. Ourself for the long whatever path you choose, business, nonprofit, government, health care, the arts, whatever it is, you are going to have setbacks. You will deal occasionally with foolish people. You will be frustrated. You will have a boss that is not great. You wont always get everything you want, at least not assessed fast asanted not as you want it. You have to be persistent. And success, however small and incomplete, success is still i always tell my daughters, better is good. It may not be perfect or great, but it is good. That is how progress happens, in society and our own lives. Dont lose hope. Sometimes you hit a roadblock. Dont lose hope in the face of naysayers and certainly dont let resistance make you cynical. Cynicism is so easy and cynics dont accomplish much. As a friend of mine who happens to be from new jersey, a guy named bruce springsteen, once said [applause] they spend their lives waiting for a moment that just dont come. Dont let that be you, dont waste your time waiting. If you doubt you can make a difference, look at the difference your fellow graduates are already making. Who helps kids, deal with determination. [applause] look at somebody like madison little, who grew up dealing with Health Issues and started wondering what it would be like if you live somewhere else. He did charge of a student nonprofit and work with people in australia and cambodia to address the aids epidemic. Peers give me hope that we will overcome the obstacles in society. That is you. Is it any wonder i am optimistic . A new generation of americans has reached up and bent the arc in the direction of more freedom and opportunity and justice. Class of 2016, it is your turn now to shape our nations nations destiny. Make sure the next 250 years are better than the last. Good luck. [applause] thank you, everybody. [applause] we are going to leave this offense now. You can see the president s remarks again at 6 30 p. M. Here on cspan. We are going to leave this event now. You can see the president s remarks again here on cspan at 6 30 p. M. [applause] congratulations to the class of 2016, today is your day of celebration and you earned it. Voices crying for peace and light, your choices will make all the difference to you and all of us. Dont be afraid to take on cases or new job or new issue that really stretches your boundaries. Spent the summer real ships, not internships. Watch the speeches in their , on cspan. Veteran Suicide Prevention was the focus of a hearing on capitol hill thursday. Representatives from the v. A. And advocacy groups talked about programs to assist veterans and their Family Members. This house is two and a half hours. Chairman jeff Miller Committee will come to order. Good morning, everybody. Thank you for being with the committee for todays oversight hearing entitled combating the crisis evaluating efforts to prevent veteran suicide. As the hearing title suggests, we are here this morning to discuss the ongoing veteran suicide crisis that, according to the latest Data Available from the department of Veterans Affairs, finds 22 veterans a day dying at their own hands. Im disappointed that the v. A. Was not able to release updated veteran suicide statistics at this time for this hearing. I understand that the center for Disease Control finally provided National Data to v. A. In the middle of march. Considering the critical interest in updated veteran suicide data, i cant emphasize enough the need for v. A. To pursue their analysis with a sense of urgency. Its my fervent hope that the new data will show a reduction in the rate of veteran suicides as a result of the investments we have made in v. A. Mental health care and Suicide Prevention. Regardless, im hopeful that v. A. s Witnesses Today will be able to provide some more recent insights into the numbers of veteran suicides and to shed some light on whether the efforts dedicated to this crisis are, indeed, making any impact. I recognize the challenges that v. A. And, indeed, the American Health care system as a whole faces in preventing suicides. The rates of suicides have risen significantly over the past 15 years for almost every single demographic. Except for veterans. And i think that is due in large part to the hard work that v. A. Health care providers do every day to extend helping hands to those most in need. But that is not to imply that the current rate is in any way acceptable. I continue to be concerned that, again, according to the latest data from v. A. That is admittedly dated, the number of veterans dying by suicide has not fallen despite significant increases in budget, in staff and programming for v. A. Mental health care and a number of targeted veteran Suicide Prevention initiatives. Its not enough for veteran suicide rates to remain stable. Our work will not be over until veteran suicide rates are eliminated. There are many reasons a person may choose to take their own life, and there are many opportunities along the way for someone with to for someone to step in and intervene. V. A. Should certainly be proud that veteran suicide rates have not risen along with rates in the general population, but theres clearly a deadly disconnect between the Many Services and supports that v. A. Offers and the veterans that most need our help. Care, particularly for someone that is contemplating suicide, is not one size fits all. And while suicide undoubtedly is a Mental Health issue, it is also much more than that. Eliminating veteran suicide altogether will take a comprehensive approach to insure that those most at risk have not only the care they need, but also a job, a purpose and a system of support in place to help carry them through their struggles. Therefore, v. A. Must adopt a Suicide Prevention strategying that recognizes the need for Wraparound Services that treats patientses as individuals and embraces complementary and alternative approaches to care where appropriate. Furthermore, v. A. Needs to better integrate a veteran and family perspective that incorporates the Lessons Learned from those who have been on the front lines of the fight against suicide and offer a personal perspective and a message of hope to those that are still struggling today. Last year the clay hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans, or s. A. V. E. Act, was signed into law. This law was named after a brave 28yearold marine, clay hunt, who returned from battle against our enemies in iraq and afghanistan but who, in 2011, lost his personal battle to the demons he brought home with him from those conflicts. The law included a number of provisions that i believe will help connect veterans in crisis with the care that they both need both in v. A. And in their communities, that will provide valuable information about what programs are working for veterans in crisis and assist v. A. In recruiting high quality Mental Health professionals to treat veteran patients. Fully implementing the clay hunt s. A. V. E. Act should be v. A. s highest priority. I look forward to discussing the departments progress to date and hearing about how the implementation of that important legislation is helping v. A. s efforts to prevent suicide among our nations veterans. In clays memory and in the memory of the countless other veterans who have lost their lives to suicide, we have to do better. With that, i yield to the Ranking Member, ms. Brown, for an Opening Statement that she may have. Corrine brown thank you, mr. Chairman, for calling this hearing today. Strong oversight of the department Suicide PreventionProgram Remains a priority of this committee. We are all aware of the oftencited statistics of 22 veterans a day committing suicide. We also know that v. A. Reports in 2014 that there is a decreased rate of suicide among users of the veterans Health Care System with Mental Health conditions. The question becomes how can we insure ready access to safe, quality Mental Health services for veterans in need of care. I hope that the v. A. Witness here today will be able to update us on those numbers as much of the country was not included in previous estimates. The last subject that concerns me relates to the new my v. A. 12 breakthrough priorities. I understand that addressing the suicide problem is not one of those. Increased access to health care, improving comprehensive exams, continuing to reduce homelessness and transforming the supply chains are all on the list. But specifically reducing suicide is not included. Given that suicide nationally is considered by some to be a Public Health problem, i believe v. A. Should include Suicide Prevention as number one my v. A. Priorities. I look forward to v. A. Testimony on this and where Suicide Prevention fits into the 12 priorities. I still believe that Suicide Prevention should be one priority of their own. Top priority. Mr. Chairman, this hearing also examine and implement the clay hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans act passed in the early days of 114th congress. This law focused the nation on this terrible epidemic affecting veterans. This law requires that the secretary of Veterans Affairs and the secretary of defense to arrange for an outside evaluation of their Mental Health care and Suicide Prevention. It also requires any Service Member being discharged to have their case reviewed for any evidence of posttraumatic stress disorder or trauma, brain injury or military sexual trauma. We have been at war for over 14 years. There are many veterans out there who do not engage the v. A. Care system for purposes of Mental Health treatment. Todays discussion should include how v. A. Is going to reach out to these veterans, and i definitely want to say that one of the major problems and i thank the v. A. For having the conference on Suicide Prevention that i was able to attend but one of the points that was pointed out that many of the veterans even though we have 22 a day, only three of them are involved in the system. And many of them are are getting on veterans who when they returned home wasnt received properly. So we need to figure out how were going to reach out to these veterans and include them in the system and, with that, mr. Chairman, i yield back the balance of my time. Jeff miller thank you very much, ms. Brown. With us this morning is ms. Jackie maffucci, joy ilen, thomas berger, the executive director of the Veterans Health council for the Vietnam Veterans of america and kim ruocco, the chief external Relations Officer for Suicide Prevention and postprevention for the Tragedy Assistance Program for survivors. And were also joined by dr. Maureen mccarthy, v. A. s assistant deputy undersecretary for health, for Patient Care Services who is accompanied by dr. Harold kudler, v. A. s chief consultant for Mental Health services, and dr. Caitlin thompson, v. A. s National Director for Suicide Prevention. Thank you all for being here today to testify before our committee. Dr. Maffucci, you are recognized for five minutes. Jacqueline maffucci thank you. Chairman miller, Ranking Member brown and Committee Members, on behalf of iava, thank you for the opportunity to share our views on this critical issue. In 2014 iava launched the campaign to combat suicide, a result of our members continually identifying Mental Health and suicide as the number one issue facing post9 11 vets. This campaign centers around the principle that timely access to high quality Mental Health care is critical in the fight to combat suicide. The signing of the clay hunt s. A. V. E. Act was an important first step. We thank congress for passing legislation and the v. A. For their commitment to fully implement the law. We knew it would take time, and were pleased that weve been