[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S.J. Res. 177 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. J. RES. 177

To designate the period of October 2, 1994, through October 8, 1994, as 
                   ``Mental Illness Awareness Week''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             March 24 (legislative day, February 22), 1994

    Mr. Simon (for himself, Mr. Akaka, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Cochran, Mr. 
    Domenici, Mr. Ford, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Helms, Mr. Hollings, Mr. 
 Jeffords, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Mathews, Mr. Metzenbaum, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. 
    Reid, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Shelby, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Wellstone, Mr. 
 Wofford, Mr. Conrad, and Mr. Daschle) introduced the following joint 
 resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                            JOINT RESOLUTION


 
To designate the period of October 2, 1994, through October 8, 1994, as 
                   ``Mental Illness Awareness Week''.

Whereas mental illness is a problem of grave concern and consequence in the 
        United States, and it is widely, but unnecessarily, feared and 
        misunderstood;
Whereas on an annual basis, 40,000,000 American adults experience clearly 
        diagnosable mental disorders, including mental illness, alcohol abuse, 
        and drug abuse, which create significant disabilities with respect to 
        employment, school attendance, and independent living;
Whereas more than 11,200,000 American citizens are diagnosed with schizophrenia, 
        manic depressive disorder, and major depression, and these individuals 
        are often disabled for long periods of time;
Whereas one-third of homeless persons in the United States suffer serious, 
        chronic forms of mental illness;
Whereas mental disorders affect almost 22 percent of American adults during any 
        1-year period, and substance abuse disorders affect an additional 6 
        percent of American adults during that same period;
Whereas mental illness interferes with the development and maturation of between 
        7,000,000 and 12,000,000 American children;
Whereas anxiety disorders, the most prevalent of the mental disorders, affect 
        12.6 percent of the American adult population, phobia disorders affect 
        10.9 percent of that population, obsessive-compulsive disorder affects 
        2.1 percent of that population, and panic disorder affects 1.3 percent 
        of that population;
Whereas 1.1 percent of the population of the United States develops 
        schizophrenia during their lifetimes, resulting in 2,000,000 Americans 
        being affected by schizophrenia during any given year, occupying an 
        estimated 100,000 hospital beds on any given day;
Whereas an estimated 6 percent of American women and an estimated 3 percent of 
        American men will experience a major depression in their lifetime, and 
        at least another 6 percent of American women have dysthymia, a less 
        severe but often more chronic form of depression;
Whereas a majority of the 30,000 American citizens who commit suicide each year 
        have a mental or an addictive disorder;
Whereas the growing population of American elderly persons faces many obstacles 
        to receiving care for mental disorders;
Whereas 20 to 25 percent of persons with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 
        (hereafter referred to as ``AIDS'') in the United States develop AIDS-
        related cognitive dysfunction, and as many as two-thirds of persons with 
        AIDS in the United States will show neuropsychiatric symptoms before 
        they die;
Whereas mental illnesses, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse result in staggering 
        costs to society, estimated to be in excess of $300,000,000,000, in 
        direct treatment and support costs, and in indirect costs to society, 
        including lost productivity;
Whereas the Federal research and services budget committed to the National 
        Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the 
        National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, and the Center for 
        Mental Health Services represents only approximately 1 percent of the 
        direct treatment and support costs of caring for persons with alcohol, 
        drug, and mental disorders;
Whereas mental illnesses are increasingly treatable disorders, and are excellent 
        prospects for amelioration when properly recognized;
Whereas persons with mental illness and their families have begun to join self-
        help groups and have worked to reduce the unfair stigma of mental 
        illness to support greater national investment in research and services 
        and to advocate a full continuum of care from hospital to community;
Whereas in recent years there have been unprecedented major research 
        developments, bringing new methods and technology to the sophisticated 
        and objective study of the functioning of the brain, and of services and 
        systems of care for persons with mental illness;
Whereas research in recent decades has led to a wide array of new and more 
        effective modalities of treatment (somatic, psychosocial, and service 
        delivery) for some of the most severe forms of mental illness, including 
        schizophrenia, major affective disorders, and phobic disorders;
Whereas appropriate treatment of mental illness has been demonstrated to be 
        cost-effective by restoring productivity, reducing use of other health 
        services, and lessening social dependence; and
Whereas recent and unparalleled growth in scientific knowledge about mental 
        illness has generated the emergence of a new threshold of opportunity 
        for future research advances, and for fruitful application of those 
        advances to specific clinical problems: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That the period of October 2, 
1994, through October 8, 1994, is designated as ``Mental Illness 
Awareness Week'', and the President is authorized to issue a 
proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe 
that period with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

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