[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 163 (Wednesday, October 16, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H8152]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                MAKE IT EASIER TO GET MENTAL HEALTHCARE

  (Mr. MOULTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to make 
it easier to get mental healthcare. We should pass the National Suicide 
Hotline Designation Act and make 988 the national number for mental 
health emergencies.
  When your house is on fire, you don't have to look for a phonebook to 
know who to call. You just dial 911. Mr. Speaker, it ought to be the 
same way for mental health emergencies as well. And that is just the 
beginning.
  Let's lead by example and change our culture so getting a mental 
health checkup is just part of routine life.
  Deployed servicemembers can set an example by getting a mental health 
checkup within 2 weeks of returning home from their deployments. That 
bipartisan requirement is in the House version of the NDAA.
  Let's start a conversation in this country so that getting mental 
healthcare is a regular part of life.

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