[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 19, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1045
                 ADDRESSING YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Illinois (Ms. Underwood) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. UNDERWOOD. Madam Speaker, the trauma, disruption, stress, and 
isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly accelerated the 
mental health crisis facing our young people. I have seen this 
reflected in my own community. My alma mater, Neuqua Valley High School 
in Naperville, Illinois, has lost two students to suicide just this 
school year.
  These are not isolated events. We are seeing the impacts of the youth 
mental health crisis play out in schools and communities across my 
district and across the Nation. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago 
has seen the number of children admitted as a result of suicide 
attempts increase from two to three children per month to two to three 
per day. There are now 3,000 children on their waitlist for outpatient 
mental healthcare. This is absolutely heartbreaking.
  However, I find hope in seeing young people in my community stand up 
in the face of tragedy and demand solutions from their schools and 
government officials. They shouldn't have to do this, but they are 
organizing, participating in school board meetings, and writing and 
calling my office. I want them to know that I hear them, and I am 
fighting for them.
  This summer, I introduced the Child Suicide Prevention and Lethal 
Means Safety Act to invest in educating healthcare providers and 
evidence-based youth suicide prevention measures. It is absolutely 
critical that we act immediately to address the growing unmet need for 
more school-based mental health providers.
  That is why I am fighting for the maximum possible funding through 
the Department of Education for the school-based mental health 
workforce in the omnibus appropriations package. I am inviting all 
Members to join this bipartisan effort.
  Last month, I was proud to join Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark to 
introduce the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Act to provide 
consistent, long-term funding to support schools in hiring more school-
based mental health providers and meet the recommended student-to-
provider ratios.
  As we begin another year of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, we must 
target resources toward supporting the mental health of kids in school. 
As U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned in his recent advisory on 
youth mental health: ``It would be a tragedy if we beat back one public 
health crisis only to allow another to grow in its place.''
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues in both the House and Senate to 
work together and across the aisle to pass legislation, including a 
fiscal year 2022 spending package, that makes necessary investments in 
combating the mental health crisis facing young people.
  We must seize this critical opportunity to build better, safer, and 
more supportive environments for our young people to grow and thrive.

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