Chuck Schumer Gets Ripped by Social Media for His Takeaway on 'Suicide Prevention' Amid COVID Relief Talks

On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was heavily criticized on Twitter for introducing new "suicide prevention acts" to the U.S. Congress. The lawmaker noted that suicide rates are rising amid the coronavirus pandemic and the economic contraction it caused. Critics argued that Schumer should simply tackle those economic and public health issues rather than the ambiguous problem of suicide itself.

On Saturday, Schumer shared the story of a U.S. military veteran in the Rochester, New York area who was counting on the increased unemployment assistance provided by the CARES Act. When this veteran lost his emergency aid and fell behind on bills, he committed suicide. "I have no doubt that there are more Americans out there who are going through this same struggle," Schumer said. However, the suicide prevention measures he wanted to offer those people drew a lot of criticism on Twitter.

"The House has passed a number of bills to get suicide prevention funding, and new resources out to communities," Schumer said. "I'm going to ask that we go into a legislative session to consider four of those House-passed bills."

For one thing, critics doubted whether the Republican-majority Senate would pass any of the bills Schumer was promoting, given the other legislation they've shot down in the last few months. For another, they argued that this was "a band aid on a gaping chest wound," and that passing a stimulus check bill would be more efficient and effective. Here is a look at how Twitter responded to Schumer's push for "suicide prevention" this weekend.