[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 130 (Thursday, July 23, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4476-S4477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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   SENATE RESOLUTION 657--SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF BLACK, 
  INDIGENOUS, AND PEOPLE OF COLOR (``BIPOC'') MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS 
                           MONTH IN JULY 2020

  Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Booker, Ms. Harris, 
Mr. Wyden, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Stabenow, Ms. Rosen, Ms. 
Smith, Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Casey, and Ms. Warren) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 657

       Whereas July 2020 is ``BIPOC Mental Health Awareness 
     Month'';
       Whereas the goals of BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month 
     (formerly known as ``Minority Mental Health Awareness 
     Month'') are--
       (1) to recognize disparities in the incidence of mental 
     health-related challenges faced by Black, indigenous, and 
     people of color (referred to in this preamble as ``BIPOC'') 
     communities;
       (2) to raise awareness of the systemic drivers of those 
     disparities;
       (3) to educate patients, caregivers, and the family members 
     of individuals who may be in need of care on the importance 
     of recognizing the signs of mental illness, seeking 
     evaluation and accepting diagnosis, receiving and adhering to 
     mental health treatment, and counseling;
       (4) to highlight the necessity of culturally informed and 
     culturally effective mental health services to increase 
     receptivity to treatment among communities of color and to 
     reduce the social and cultural stigma associated with mental 
     health services;
       (5) to underscore the need to dismantle the barriers to 
     access faced by individuals who seek mental health care 
     services; and

[[Page S4477]]

       (6) to overcome and repair the mental harm and trauma that 
     are experienced by people of color and caused by systematic 
     racism and racial bias;
       Whereas the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, 
     which has disproportionately impacted communities of color, 
     is expected to have grave and potentially long-term mental 
     health implications due to the traumatic stress associated 
     with pandemic conditions, including stress from--
       (1) the loss of resources to meet immediate and future 
     needs;
       (2) grief and concerns for the safety of family and loved 
     ones;
       (3) reduced social interaction and increased isolation and 
     loneliness;
       (4) the stigma and xenophobia against Asian-American 
     communities, including many incidents of hate during the 
     COVID-19 pandemic, leading to negative mental health 
     outcomes; and
       (5) a lack of consideration for pre-existing social-
     environmental disparities when addressing the 
     disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color;
       Whereas, even in nonpandemic times, the psychosocial stress 
     of racial discrimination, including exclusion from health, 
     educational, social, and economic resources, contributes to 
     poorer health quality and higher rates of chronic health 
     conditions for communities of color;
       Whereas BIPOC communities, already burdened by disparities 
     in chronic illnesses like lung disease, asthma, heart 
     conditions, sickle cell disease, and diabetes, 
     disproportionately suffer from the mental health disorders 
     that are commonly associated with those chronic illnesses;
       Whereas environmental strains, such as poverty, unsafe 
     neighborhoods, and chronic racial and ethnic discrimination, 
     among other social determinants of health, can significantly 
     increase distress and the overall mental and emotional well-
     being of poor youth of color;
       Whereas an emerging body of research shows that past trauma 
     inflicted on racial and ethnic minorities has the potential 
     to affect the descendants of the survivors of that trauma;
       Whereas, despite the necessity of diverse scientific and 
     health care workforces and culturally informed and culturally 
     effective science and research to address mental health 
     disparities, including disparities in care, and decades of 
     efforts to diversify those workforces, there continues to be 
     a challenging pattern of continued underrepresentation of 
     people of certain genders and racial and ethnic groups in 
     those fields;
       Whereas mental health services and supports often are not 
     aligned with the National Standards for Culturally and 
     Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health 
     Care;
       Whereas the lack of linguistically appropriate mental 
     health services and the lack of information about where to 
     find those services decreases the likelihood that families of 
     color will seek help;
       Whereas investment in linguistically appropriate mental 
     health services will--
       (1) reverse the trend of families of color not seeking 
     help; and
       (2) drive an increase in use of those services by people of 
     color who experience mental health-related challenges;
       Whereas the Office of Minority Health of the Department of 
     Health and Human Services has determined that Black adults 
     are 20 percent more likely than their White peers to report 
     serious psychological distress;
       Whereas the suicide death rate for Black youth has risen 
     from 2.55 per 100,000 in 2007 to 4.82 per 100,000 in 2017;
       Whereas Black youth under the age of 13 are twice as likely 
     as White youth of the same age group to die by suicide;
       Whereas Black males ages 5 through 11 are more likely than 
     their White peers to die by suicide;
       Whereas, in 2018, 42 percent of Black adults with a serious 
     mental illness received no treatment, compared with 35.9 
     percent of the total adult population of the United States;
       Whereas chronic underfunding of Federal treaty obligations 
     for health services for Tribal Nations has contributed to 
     disparate mental health outcomes for American Indians and 
     Alaska Natives, who experience post-traumatic stress disorder 
     more than twice as often as the general population;
       Whereas, between 2000 and 2020, the suicide rate for 
     American Indian and Alaska Native women and men has increased 
     by 139 percent and 71 percent, respectively, compared with a 
     33 percent increase for the total adult population in the 
     United States;
       Whereas suicide is the second leading cause of death for 
     American Indian and Alaska Native youth ages 10 through 24;
       Whereas the suicide rate for American Indian and Alaska 
     Native youth is 2.5 times higher than the national average 
     and the highest across all ethnic and racial groups;
       Whereas Latino adults and children face barriers to 
     accessing mental health services, including a lack of 
     insurance, the high cost of health services, low wages, poor 
     transportation, work stress, and immigration factors;
       Whereas research shows that, in the Hispanic population, 
     older adults and youth are more susceptible than other 
     Hispanic adults to mental distress relating to immigration 
     and acculturation;
       Whereas fewer treatment and prevention services reach 
     Hispanics than other racial or ethnic groups in the United 
     States due to the lack of professionals being equipped to 
     support culturally specific challenges;
       Whereas, in 2017, suicide was the leading cause of death 
     for Asian Americans ages 15 through 24;
       Whereas, in 2015, Asian adults with any mental illness had 
     the lowest rates of use of health services, prescription 
     medication, and outpatient services among all racial groups;
       Whereas the rate of suicide among Asian-American women over 
     the age of 65 is the highest of any group in that age range;
       Whereas the rate of suicide among Bhutanese refugees is 
     twice the rate of suicide for the general population of the 
     United States;
       Whereas Native Hawaiian youth in Hawaii have significantly 
     higher suicide rates than other adolescents;
       Whereas Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders face greater 
     stigma than is faced by the general population of the United 
     States faces in accessing mental health care;
       Whereas the first BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month (then 
     known as ``Minority Mental Health Awareness Month'') was 
     designated in honor of the late Bebe Moore Campbell, who 
     showed great dedication and commitment to moving 
     communities--
       (1) to support mental wellness through effective treatment 
     options; and
       (2) to increase access to mental health treatment and 
     services; and
       Whereas communities of color have shown deep mental-health 
     resiliency in the face of decades and centuries of trauma and 
     discrimination, underscoring the efficacy and importance of 
     resilience-focused and culturally and contextually grounded 
     prevention and early intervention strategies in mental 
     health: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate supports the goals and ideals of 
     BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month in July 2020, which 
     include bringing attention to the mental health disparities 
     faced by communities of color in the United States, such as 
     American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Blacks, 
     Latinos, and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.

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