Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper cosponsored a bipartisan Senate resolution led by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) to designate Sunday, November 12 as National Warrior Call Day. The Senate passed the resolution unanimously in September. 

“We have an obligation not only to honor the bravery and dedication of generations of service members who have risked their lives to protect our country, but also to check in on veterans in our communities and ask how they are doing,” said Bennet. “One call can save a life. This weekend, I hope Coloradans will take a moment and reach out to returning service members and veterans to let them know they’re not alone.”

“We owe our veterans a debt that can never be repaid. But, far too often, we fail to meet our obligations to provide high-quality mental health care. Designating November 12 as National Warrior Call Day is a reminder that we are all human, that we need each other, that we have it in our power to help,” said Hickenlooper.

National Warrior Call Day follows Veterans Day and encourages Americans to call and check in with veterans in their communities to strengthen support for veteran suicide prevention and mental health. These conversations can help fight mental illness and combat the epidemic of suicide among military members.

Bennet and Hickenlooper continue to work to deliver the benefits and support that Colorado’s military service members, veterans, and their families have earned. In July, Bennet and Hickenlooper reintroduced the Helping Unleash Benefits and Services (HUBS) for Veterans Act, bipartisan legislation based on Colorado’s example to support local “network hubs” that streamline access to essential resources for veterans, service members, and their families. Earlier this year, the senators also joined bipartisan colleagues to introduce the Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding (GUARD) Veterans Affairs (VA) Benefits Act to reinstate penalties for those who try to defraud veterans filing a disability claim. In February, the senators reintroduced the Major Richard Star Act, a bipartisan bill to provide full military benefits to combat-injured veterans with less than 20 years of military service. Last year, Bennet and Hickenlooper pushed to pass the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, bipartisan legislation to expand health care eligibility to over 3.5 million toxic-exposed veterans.

In addition to Bennet, Hickenlooper, Shaheen, and Cotton, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), James Risch (R-Ind.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Jon Tester (D-Mt.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Shelly Moore Capito (R-Nev.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Kevin Cramer, Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Dan Sullivan (R-Ark.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Angus King (I-Maine), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Mark Warner (R-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.) cosigned the resolution.

The text of the resolution is available HERE.