[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 137 (Saturday, October 5, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H6291]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  THE THURSDAY INCIDENT AT THE CAPITOL

  (Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, the Capitol was 
in lockdown when Miriam Carey led the police on a frightening high-
speed chase that sadly resulted in her death. Initial reports say she 
may have been delusional, paranoid, and had a prescription for 
schizophrenia medication.
  The incident shows that a person with untreated or undertreated 
mental illness does not need a firearm to cause harm. It reminds us of 
an issue that we've been talking about since the tragedy at Newtown, 
and even before--the problems with our Nation's mental health system.
  There were 38,000 suicides in our country recently, 750,000 attempts. 
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has identified inefficient 
outpatient and inpatient treatment. State involuntary commitment laws 
are failing to help those with schizophrenia and paranoid delusions. 
Community mental health centers are underfunded. Federal privacy laws 
have problems, and NIMH is woefully underfunded.
  I will be introducing legislation soon to deal with these mental 
health issues. I ask my colleagues to help us deal with serious mental 
illness in a serious way.

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