[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 192 (Tuesday, December 5, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S18028-S18029]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KERRY:
  S. 1448. A bill to establish the National Commission on Gay and 
Lesbian Youth Suicide Prevention, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Labor and Human Resources.


            the gay and lesbian youth suicide prevention act

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Gay and 
Lesbian Youth Suicide Prevention Act.
  Mr. President, my bill is a companion to legislation introduced in 
the House of Representatives by my friend, Congressman Martin Meehan of 
Massachusetts. This bill is a modest beginning to address a pernicious 
crisis among our teenagers. The bill establishes a Federal commission 
seeks to identify the root causes and report on possible methods to 
prevent suicide among gay and lesbian adolescents.
  In 1989, then Secretary of the Department of Health and Human 
Services, Dr. Louis Sullivan, issued a report on youth suicide. The 
report's most dramatic findings included a particularly alarming 
statistic--nearly one-third of all teen suicide occurred among gay and 
lesbian youth.
  This is a disturbing trend. Instead of ignoring this epidemic as past 
administrations have chosen to do, the Commission my bill would 
establish will devise ways to address effectively the situations of gay 
youth in existing suicide prevention programs. It will make 
recommendations to the Secretary of HHS on methods to curb suicide 
among gay teens. And it will expand existing research on youth suicide 
to include gay and lesbian adolescents. A full and appropriate airing 
of these issues will mean the beginning of the end of the tragic waste 
of young life in our country that the suicides of gay teens represent.
  Although the benefits from the Commission will be great, its cost 
will not. The Commission will use the existing resources of the 
Department of Health and Human Services. The members of the Commission 
will not be paid. And the Commission will not be another of the 
Government bodies that, once established, endures to eternity. It will 
sunset 6 months after its initial meeting.
  Too often, Mr. President, we hear stories of harassment and abuse 
which lead to depression, emotional problems and suicide. We cannot 
ignore the obvious fact that gay and lesbian youth are subjected to 
enormous societal pressure and we certainly cannot turn our back on the 
chilling evidence that gay and lesbian youth are three times more 
likely to commit suicide than other young people.
  Current official youth suicide prevention programs do not address 
this issue, and it is high time they did. We need to get serious about 
putting an end to this preventable epidemic. That is what this bill 
does. I urge my colleagues to support this effort.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1448

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Gay and Lesbian Youth 
     Suicide Prevention Act''.

     SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

       There is established a commission to be known as the 
     National Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth Suicide 
     Prevention (referred to in this Act as the ``Commission'').

     SEC. 3. MEMBERSHIP.

       (a) Number and Appointment.--The Commission shall be 
     composed of 31 members appointed by the Secretary of Health 
     and Human Services. Members of the Commission shall include 
     professionals and experts in the field of youth suicide 
     prevention.
       (b) Terms.--Each member of the Commission shall be 
     appointed for the life of the Commission. Any vacancy in the 
     Commission shall not affect the powers of the Commission, but 
     shall be filled in the same manner as the original 
     appointment.
       (c) Meetings.--The Commission shall, during a 6-month 
     period, meet with the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
     and advise various offices within the Department of Health 
     and Human Services on an ongoing basis.
       (d) Chairperson.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services shall select a chairperson for the Commission from 
     among the members of the Commission.

     SEC. 4. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.

       (a) In General.--The Commission shall carry out activities 
     to combat the epidemic of suicide among gay and lesbian 
     youth, who account for 30 percent of completed youth 
     suicides, as reported by the Department of Health and Human 
     Services in the 1989 ``Report of the Secretary's Task Force 
     on Youth 

[[Page S 18029]]
     Suicide''. The Commission shall advise the Secretary of Health and 
     Human Services and heads of other Federal and State youth 
     service agencies concerning how to include the concerns of 
     gay and lesbian youth in suicide prevention policies, 
     programs, and research.
       (b) Goals of Commission.--The goals of the Commission shall 
     be to--
       (1) work to include the concerns of gay and lesbian youth 
     in suicide prevention programs at the national and State 
     level;
       (2) develop and make specific recommendations to the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services and heads of other 
     relevant Federal and State agencies about how to stem the 
     epidemic of gay and lesbian youth suicide;
       (3) work to expand research on youth suicide to include 
     research on gay and lesbian youth suicide; and
       (4) work to amend existing youth suicide policies, 
     guidelines, and programs to include policies, guidelines, and 
     programs appropriate for gay and lesbian youth.

     SEC. 5. REPORTS.

       (a) Interim Reports.--The Commission shall conduct regional 
     public hearings around the United States to gather 
     information from youths, family members of such youths, 
     and professionals, about the problem of gay and lesbian 
     youth suicide, on an ongoing basis. The Commission shall 
     prepare and submit an interim report to the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services. The interim report shall 
     contain findings and conclusions of the Commission, based 
     on the hearings.
       (b) Final Report.--The Commission shall prepare and submit 
     a final report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 
     The final report shall contain a detailed statement of the 
     findings and conclusions of the Commission.

     SEC. 6. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

       (a) Information From Federal Agencies.--The Commission may 
     secure directly from any Federal department or agency such 
     information as the Commission considers necessary to carry 
     out the provisions of this Act. Upon request of the 
     Chairperson of the Commission, the head of such department or 
     agency shall furnish such information to the Commission.
       (b) Postal Services.--The Commission may use the United 
     States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions 
     as other departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
       (c) Use of Voluntary and Uncompensated Services.--
     Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, 
     the Secretary of Health and human Services is authorized to 
     accept voluntary and uncompensated services in furtherance of 
     the purposes of this Act.

     SEC. 7. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

       (a) Compensation.--Members of the Commission shall serve on 
     the Commission without compensation.
       (b) Travel Expenses.--The members of the Commission shall 
     be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
     subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies 
     under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 6, United States 
     Code, while away from their homes or regular places of 
     business in the performance of services for the Commission.
       (c) Detail of Government Employees.--Any Federal Government 
     employee may be detailed to the Commission without 
     reimbursement, and such detail shall be without interruption 
     or loss of civil service status or privilege.
       (d) Procurement of Temporary and Intermittent Services.--
     The Chairperson of the Commission may procure temporary and 
     intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, 
     United States Code, at rates for individuals which do not 
     exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay 
     prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule under 
     section 5316 of such title.

     SEC. 8. SUNSET PROVISION.

       The Commission shall terminate 6 months after the date of 
     the first meeting of the Commission.
                                 ______