[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 86 (Thursday, May 24, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6875-S6877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Reed):
  S. 1514. A bill to revise and extend provisions under the Garrett Lee 
Smith Memorial Act; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise to speak on a bill I am introducing 
with my colleagues, Senator Smith and Senator Reed. The bill is a 
reauthorization of the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, a landmark 
legislation enacted nearly three years ago that significantly 
strengthened our commitment as a Nation to reduce the public and mental 
health tragedy of youth suicide. I would like to take a moment to thank 
my colleagues who joined me in this effort, particularly Senator Smith. 
We all know the personal tragedy Senator Smith, his wife, Sharon, and 
their family suffered when their son and brother, Garrett, took his 
life over 3 years ago. Since that time, Senator Smith and Sharon have 
become tireless advocates in advancing the cause of youth suicide 
prevention, and their work should be commended.
  Three years after this important legislation became law, suicide 
among our Nation's young people remains an acute crisis that knows no 
geographic, racial, ethnic, cultural, or socioeconomic boundaries. Each 
year, almost 3,000 young people take their lives, making suicide the 
third overall cause of death between the ages of 10 and 24. Young 
people under the age of 25 account for 15 percent of all suicides 
completed. In fact, more children and young adults die from their own 
hand than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke and 
chronic lung disease combined.
  Equally alarming are the numbers of young people who consider taking 
or attempt to take their lives. Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention figures estimate that almost 3 million high school students, 
or 20 percent of young adults between the ages of 15 and 19, consider 
suicide every year. Furthermore, over 2 million children and young 
adults actually attempt suicide each year. Seventy percent of people 
who die by suicide tell someone about it in advance. Yet, tragically, 
few of these young people do not receive appropriate intervention 
services before it's too late.
  When it was enacted into law, the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act 
became the first legislation specifically designed to prevent youth 
suicide. The legislation established a new grant initiative for the 
further development and expansion of youth suicide early intervention 
and prevention strategies and the community-based services they seek to 
coordinate. It additionally authorized a dedicated technical assistance 
center to assist States, localities, tribes, and community service 
providers with the planning, implementation, and evaluation of these 
strategies and services. It also established a new grant initiative to 
enhance and improve early intervention and prevention services 
specifically designed for college-aged students. Lastly, it created a 
new inter-agency collaboration to focus on policy development and the 
dissemination of data specifically pertaining to youth suicide. I am 
pleased to say that to date, 29 States, 7 tribes, and 55 colleges and 
universities have benefitted from $63.4 million in resources to 
increase their services to youth, provided by the Garrett Lee Smith 
Memorial Act.
  The bill we introduce today seeks to continue the good work started 
by the initial legislation. First, it authorizes $210 million over 5 
years for continued development and expansion of statewide youth 
suicide prevention and early intervention strategies. Second, it 
authorizes $31 million over 5 years to continue assisting college 
campuses meet the needs of their students. And third, it authorizes $25 
million over 5 years to continue the vital research on suicide 
prevention for all age groups being conducted by the Suicide Prevention 
Technical Assistance Center.
  I continue to believe that finding concrete, comprehensive and 
effective remedies to the epidemic of youth suicide cannot be done by 
lawmakers on Capitol Hill alone. Those remedies must also come from 
individuals, doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, nurses, 
teachers, advocates, survivors, and affected families, who are 
dedicated to this issue or spend each day with children and young 
adults that suffer from illnesses related to suicide. Despite the goals 
we have achieved with the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, I believe 
that our work is not done. I hope that, as a society, we can continue 
working collectively both to understand better the tragedy of youth 
suicide and develop innovative and effective public and mental health 
initiatives that reach every child and young adult in this country--
compassionate initiatives that give them encouragement, hope, and above 
all, life.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1514

       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 ``Garrett Lee Smith Memorial 
     Act Reauthorization of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.

       (a) Interagency Research, Training, and Technical 
     Assistance Centers.--Section 520C of the Public Health 
     Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-34) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (d)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``youth suicide early 
     intervention and prevention strategies'' and inserting 
     ``suicide early intervention and prevention strategies for 
     all ages, particularly for youth'';
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``youth suicide early 
     intervention and prevention strategies'' and inserting 
     ``suicide early intervention and prevention strategies for 
     all ages, particularly for youth'';

[[Page S6876]]

       (C) in paragraph (3)--
       (i) by striking ``youth''; and
       (ii) by inserting before the semicolon the following: ``for 
     all ages, particularly for youth'';
       (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ``youth suicide'' and 
     inserting ``suicide for all ages, particularly among youth'';
       (E) in paragraph (5), by striking ``youth suicide early 
     intervention techniques and technology'' and inserting 
     ``suicide early intervention techniques and technology for 
     all ages, particularly for youth'';
       (F) in paragraph (7)--
       (i) by striking ``youth''; and
       (ii) by inserting ``for all ages, particularly for youth,'' 
     after ``strategies''; and
       (G) in paragraph (8)--
       (i) by striking ``youth suicide'' each place that such 
     appears and inserting ``suicide''; and
       (ii) by striking ``in youth'' and inserting ``among all 
     ages, particularly among youth''; and
       (2) in subsection (e)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``$4,000,000'' and all 
     that follows through the period and inserting ``$4,000,000 
     for fiscal year 2008, and such sums as may be necessary for 
     each of fiscal years 2009 through 2012.''; and
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``$3,000,000'' and all 
     that follows through the period and inserting ``$5,000,000 
     for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.''.
       (b) Youth Suicide Early Intervention and Prevention 
     Strategies.--Section 520E of the Public Health Service Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 290bb-36) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (2) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(2) Limitation.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall ensure that a State does not receive more 
     than one grant or cooperative agreement under this section at 
     any one time. For purposes of the preceding sentences, a 
     State shall be considered to have received a grant or 
     cooperative agreement if the eligible entity involved is the 
     State or an entity designated by the State under paragraph 
     (1)(B). Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to apply 
     to entities described in paragraph (1)(C).''; and
       (2) by striking subsection (m) and inserting the following:
       ``(m) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of 
     carrying out this section, there are authorized to be 
     appropriated $34,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, $38,000,000 
     for fiscal year 2009, $42,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, 
     $46,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, and $50,000,000 for fiscal 
     year 2012.''.
       (c) Mental and Behavioral Health Services on Campus.--
     Section 520E-2(h) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     290bb-36b(h)) is amended by striking ``$5,000,000 for fiscal 
     year 2005'' and all that follows through the period and 
     inserting ``$5,400,000 for fiscal year 2008, $5,800,000 for 
     fiscal year 2009, $6,200,000 for fiscal year 2010, $6,600,000 
     for fiscal year 2011, and $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2012.''.
  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, today, I rise with my colleagues Senator 
Dodd and Senator Reed to introduce an important bill for our youth, the 
Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act Reauthorization of 2007. Nearly 3 years 
ago, the Senate first passed this Act with 39 cosponsors. At that time, 
we heard an outpouring of support and sharing from other members of the 
Senate who have lost members of their families. On September 9, 2004, 
my son Garrett's birthday, the House and Senate passed the Garrett Lee 
Smith Memorial Act with overwhelming support. I remain thankful for 
their wisdom and support of the important programs this Act created 
that focused on youth suicide prevention.
  As I said in 2004, this Act represents the best of American 
Government, an opportunity when our Nation's elected officials can come 
together, put aside their political parties and politics, to debate and 
pass legislation. During the last 3 years, this effort has resulted in 
nearly $65 million in suicide prevention and intervention funding to 
States, tribes, and on our Nation's higher education institutions.
  I also want to recognize and thank my colleagues who have championed 
this cause for a great many years Senator Dodd, Senator Jack Reed, 
Senator Harry Reid and Senator Kennedy your work to raise awareness 
about youth suicide has been significant and for that I thank you. I 
also would like to thank Representative Patrick Kennedy for his support 
on this and so many other issues affecting persons with mental illness. 
I look forward to continuing to work with all of you to ensure passage 
of this reauthorization bill.
  As most of you know, I came to be a champion of this issue not 
because I volunteered for it, but because I suffered for it. In 
September of 2003, Sharon and I lost our son Garrett Lee Smith to 
suicide. While Sharon and I think about Garrett every day and mourn his 
loss, we take solace in the time we had with him, and have committed 
ourselves to preserving his memory by helping others.
  Sharon and I adopted Garrett a few days after his birth. He was such 
a handsome baby boy. He was unusually happy and playful, and he also 
was especially thoughtful of everyone around him as he grew older. His 
exuberance for life, however, began to dim in his elementary years. He 
struggled to spell. His reading and writing were stuck in the 
rudiments. We had him tested and were surprised to learn that he had an 
unusually high IQ, but struggled with a severe overlay of learning 
disabilities, including dyslexia.
  However, it would be years later that we learned of the greatest 
challenge to face Garrett, his diagnosis of bi-polar disorder. Bipolar 
disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder 
that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy and ability to 
function. Different from the normal ups and downs of life that everyone 
goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. As his 
parents, we knew how long and how desperately Garrett had suffered from 
his condition. Yet, tragically, over three years ago Garrett reached a 
point where his illness took over and he could no longer fight.
  In his memory, I have committed myself to helping prevent other 
families from experiencing the tremendous pain that comes with the loss 
of a loved-one to suicide. We know that each year, more than 4,000 
youth aged 15 to 24 die by suicide. From this number we know that since 
Garrett's death more than 14,000 young people have lost their lives to 
suicide. Too many young lives have been lost and continue to be lost.
  While we can always do more, this Act has taken that first, 
significant step toward creating and funding an organized effort at the 
Federal, State and local levels to prevent and intervene when youth are 
at risk for mental and behavioral conditions that can lead to suicide. 
The loss of a life to suicide at any age is sad and traumatic, but when 
it happens to someone who has just begun their life, has just begun to 
fulfill their potential the impact somehow seems harsher, sadder and 
more pronounced.
  Once signed into law, this bill will authorize $210 million in new 
funding over 5 years to further support States and Native American 
tribes in building systems of State-wide early intervention and 
prevention strategies. This bill will continue the current practice of 
ensuring that 85 percent of funding will be provided to entities 
focused on identifying and preventing suicide at the State and 
community level. Since the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act was signed 
into law in 2004, 29-States and seven tribes have received grants to 
help them plan for and implement youth suicide prevention strategies. 
The new and higher funding level will allow States that have never 
received a grant to receive funding. It also will allow States that 
have received grants in the past to expand their efforts to include 
more geographic areas and youth populations.
  In my home State of Oregon, which has been especially active and 
forward-thinking in combating youth suicide, the Department of Human 
Services has been working in a number of counties throughout the State 
to increase referrals so care is available when needed, establish 
linkages to care and improve knowledge among clinicians, crisis 
response workers, school staff, youth and lay persons related to youth 
who are at-risk. The Native American Rehabilitation Association of the 
Northwest, Inc. also has implemented the Native Youth Prevention 
Project, which serves nine tribes and tribal confederations in Oregon 
where American Indian youth have the highest suicide rate in the State. 
Programs such as these can be important catalysts for change across the 
Nation and we must continue to support them.
  The bill also reauthorizes a Suicide Prevention Resource Center, 
which provides technical assistance to States and local grantees to 
ensure that they are able to implement their State-wide early 
intervention and prevention strategy. It also collects data related to 
the programs, evaluates the effectiveness of the programs, and 
identifies and distributes best practices. Sharing technical data and 
program best practices is necessary to ensure that Federal funding is 
being utilized in the

[[Page S6877]]

best manner possible and that information is being circulated among 
participants. The Center will receive $25 million over 5 years for 
these purposes. Since 2004, the Center has done great work to support 
the grantees under this Act as well as push forward broader science-to-
service efforts to combat youth suicide.
  Finally, the bill will provide $31 million over 5 years to continue 
the colleges and universities grant program. This program works to 
establish mental health programs or enhance existing mental health 
programs focused on increasing access to and enhancing the range of 
mental and behavioral health services for students. Entering college 
can be one of the most disruptive and demanding times in a young 
person's life, but for persons with a mental illness the changes can 
become overwhelming. Loss of their parental support system, and lack of 
a familiar and easily accessed health care providers often can become 
too much of a burden to bear. We must ensure programs are in place to 
help them overcome these challenges.
  So far, 55 colleges and universities have received grants through the 
Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, including two in my home State, helping 
countless students. However, with more than 4,000 degree-granting 
institutions in the United States, there are many more campuses that 
will be helped by this reauthorization.
  I am pleased to be a champion of this cause and this bill and hope my 
colleagues will join me in supporting its passage.
                                 ______