Washington ( CNN ) -- President Obama should end a longstanding policy of not writing letters of condolence to families of troops who commit suicide , dozens of lawmakers urged him in a letter Wednesday . The lawmakers warned that `` our armed forces are in the midst of a suicide epidemic . '' U.S. Army statistics show that more than 200 troops have killed themselves this year , more than in 2008 , which was a record year . `` By overturning this policy on letters of condolence to the families of suicide victims , you can send a strong signal that you will not tolerate a culture in our armed forces that discriminates against those with a mental illness , '' the lawmakers wrote . The White House has begun a review of the condolence policy , which the 46 members of Congress said should be completed as soon as possible . They also argued the policy of treating suicides differently from deaths in action flew in the face of military funeral procedure , which treats both the same . Service members who kill themselves get `` a full military burial , complete with flag-draped coffin and 21-gun salute . We have not heard of any reports that military morale and discipline have waned as a result , '' they wrote . They also argued that letters of condolence are `` as much about respect for the personal loss that a family experiences as it is about an acknowledgment by our nation that we have lost a soldier . '' The White House said two weeks ago its review of the policy should `` hopefully '' conclude shortly . White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the president himself asked for the review . `` If the president did n't care , the policy would remain unchanged and unexamined , '' Gibbs said at a December 9 news conference . Despite this year 's rise in suicides , Army officials said a recent trend downward could signal progress in programs intended to reduce the problem . Between January and mid-November , 140 active-duty soldiers killed themselves , as did 71 Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers . That 's a total of 211 as of November 17 , when Gen. Peter Chiarelli , the Army vice chief of staff , briefed reporters about the problem . But he said the monthly numbers are starting to slow down as the year nears its end . `` This is horrible , and I do not want to downplay the significance of these numbers in any way , '' Chiarelli said . For all of 2008 , the Army said 140 active-duty soldiers killed themselves , while 57 Guard and Reserve soldiers committed suicide , totaling 197 . While the lawmakers cited attitudes toward the mentally ill , the Army is still trying to tackle why soldiers are killing themselves . `` We still have n't found any statistically significant causal linkage that would allow us to effectively predict human behavior . The reality is , there is no simple answer -- each suicide case is as unique as the individuals themselves , '' Chiarelli said . He also said there were troubling new statistics showing an increase in suicide rates among young soldiers who have never deployed , another factor puzzling Army researchers . CNN 's Adam S. Levine , Larry Shaughnessy , Mike Mount and Elaine Quijano contributed to this report .
Forty - six members of Congress asked President Obama to revise policy . White House does not send condolence letters to families of suicide victims . Obama asked for changes of policy , he says . Policy stigmatizes mental illness , lawmakers say .