[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 134 (Wednesday, October 2, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H6115-H6116]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             GARRETT LEE SMITH MEMORIAL ACT REAUTHORIZATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, my colleague, Dr. Bill 
Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, and I, introduced a bipartisan 
bill, H.R. 2734, the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Reauthorization Act, on 
July 19 of this year. This legislation would reauthorize the Garrett 
Lee Smith Memorial Act to help State and local governments and 
universities to continue to provide and develop suicide prevention 
programs. This current bill is budget neutral and would revise and 
extend provisions of the original act signed into law by President 
George W. Bush in 2004. It is named for former-Senator Gordon Smith, 
Republican of Oregon's 22-year-old son Garrett whose life was ended in 
September of 2003.
  Every year, over 38,000 Americans die by suicide, and many more are 
treated for self-inflicted injuries that result from suicide attempts. 
As you may know, suicide still remains the second leading cause of 
death for our adolescents and young adults between the ages of 10 and 
24, and results in 4,800 lives lost each year according to the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention.
  Also, the same agency reported that youths in grades 9 through 12, in 
public and private schools in the United States, found that 15 percent 
of students reported seriously considering suicide, 11 percent reported 
creating a plan, and 7 percent reported trying to take their own life. 
The 2010 American College Health Association's National College Health 
Assessment II noted that 45.6 percent of the students surveyed reported 
feeling that things were hopeless and 30 percent reported feeling 
depressed.
  The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act Reauthorization grant program has 
assisted 35 tribes, 45 States, and 85 institutions of higher education 
to develop suicide prevention and intervention programs, which are 
often the first line of defense for those with this troubling disease 
of mental illness concerns, who are distraught and aren't certain about 
what to do.
  Again, H.R. 2734 is budget neutral, and I come to the floor to ask 
all of my colleagues to cosponsor the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act. 
We can disagree on some things, but I don't think we need to disagree 
on this.
  Please, sign up as a cosponsor.

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