PA HR376

Urges the President and Congress to direct the VA to include National Guard and Reserve veteran suicides in its National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, as these veterans are currently excluded if they don't meet specific service criteria (90 consecutive days active duty, 30 days in combat zone, or 20 years total service)

VA reported 17 veteran suicides per day in 2019, down from a previously estimated 22 per day, but the resolution argues this decrease is artificially lowered by excluding certain veteran groups

National Guard and Reserve members constitute 45% of forces deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and face unique suicide risks that current reporting obscures

An estimated 20 additional veteran suicides per day may go uncounted due to misclassification of deaths like drug overdoses or single-vehicle accidents as "accidental"

Pennsylvania has more than 700,000 veterans including National Guard and Reserve members; copies of the resolution would be transmitted to the President, VA Secretary, and all Pennsylvania members of Congress