    [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2025)]
    [Senate]
    [Pages S1338-S1339]
    From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                    VERMONT STATE OF THE UNION ESSAY WINNERS

     Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, since 2010, I have sponsored a
    State of the Union essay contest for Vermont high school students. This
    contest gives students in my State the opportunity to articulate what
    issues they would prioritize if they were President of the United
    States.
      This is the contest's 15th year, and I would like to congratulate the
    475 students who participated. It is truly heartening to see so many
    young people engaged in finding solutions for the problems that face
    our country. To my mind, this is what democracy is all about.
      A volunteer panel of Vermont educators reviewed the essays and chose
    Justason Lahue as this year's winner. Justason, a junior at Burr and
    Burton Academy, wrote about the impact of social media on youth mental
    health. Ari Glasser, a junior at Essex High School, was the second-
    place winner. Ari wrote about the influence of billionaires on American
    politics. Ely White, a senior at Leland & Gray Union Middle and High
    School, was the third-place winner, with an essay on political
    polarization.
      I am very proud to enter into the Congressional Record the essays
    submitted by Justason, Ari and Ely.
      The material follows:

            Winner, Justason LaHue, Burr and Burton Academy, Junior

           Social media is deteriorating adolescent mental health, yet
         the United States' government is treating the situation like
         a social experiment; our government is waiting to see what
         will happen despite the mounting evidence that social media
         has dangerous effects. Until we apply evidence-based
         regulations to limit social media use, adolescent well-being
         is in jeopardy.
           The current evidence of harm is compelling. A 2023 Gallup
         survey found that teenagers spend an average of 4.8 hours on
         social media daily. Alarmingly, a longitudinal study
         involving 6,595 adolescents revealed that spending over 3
         hours daily on social media doubled the risk of poor mental
         health outcomes, such as anxiety and depression. These are
         not studies in isolation: a systematic review of 13 studies
         also found that unhealthy engagement of social media was
         correlated with depression, anxiety, and psychological
         distress.
           While these studies demonstrate correlation, there are also
         indicators of causality. Numerous studies highlight how
         limiting social media use can improve mental health. A
         randomized controlled trial reported that reducing social
         media use by just 30 minutes daily lessened depressive
         symptoms in college students. Another study involving
         adolescents showed that ceasing social media use for 4 weeks
         resulted in a 25-40% improvement in subjective well-being
         (e.g., life satisfaction, depression, and anxiety) when
         compared to psychological interventions such as therapy.
           Social media use can worsen adolescent mental health, while
         lessening use demonstrates the opposite effect. Adolescent
         brain development is most active from ages 10 to 14. However,
         the arbitrary and rarely enforced `internet age' currently
         set at 13 exposes immature brains to a world of
         entertainment, inappropriate content, and harassment. Given
         these biological factors and the evidence of potential harm,
         a more appropriate age for adolescents to access the internet
         is 16 years of age.
           I propose a bill called the Youth Mental Health Protection
         Act. This act would target a root cause of social media-
         related youth mental health issues by changing the legal age
         of `internet adulthood' (i.e., when one can sign up for most
         online platforms, consent to terms of service, and share
         personal data). This act would make 16 the legally required
         age to access social media, similar to obtaining a driver's
         license in most states, another privilege requiring complex
         thinking and decision-making. Finally, the Youth Mental
         Health Protection Act would hold social media companies
         liable by requiring age verification prior to account
         creation.
           Requiring age checks would likely lessen the negative
         effects of social media on adolescent mental health, however,
         this is just

    [[Page S1339]]

         one step the United States government needs to take to solve
         this crisis. To counteract the harms introduced by this
         ongoing social experiment, policy-makers need to act now.
         Enacting the Youth Mental Health Protection Act and
         prioritizing further research on the effects of social media
         is imperative to safeguard the mental health of our nation's
         youth.

              Second Place, Ari Glasser, Essex High School, Junior

           President-elect Donald Trump has so far nominated over a
         dozen billionaires to his cabinet, with a combined net worth
         of over $400 billion-more than ten times the GDP of the state
         of Vermont. In addition, Elon Musk, the richest man in the
         world, was one of Trump's strongest supporters during the
         election campaign: He donated a staggering $277 million to
         Trump and other Republican candidates, according to CBS News.
         It is clear that the ultra-wealthy control a growing share of
         both political and economic power in the United States,
         holding disproportionate sway that erodes the power of the
         American people. The expanding influence of the billionaire
         class is one of the greatest challenges facing America today.
           The recent trend of billionaire influence is reminiscent of
         the Gilded Age, a time when an incredibly wealthy group of
         industrialists such as John D. Rockefeller presided over vast
         monopolies while the government struggled to break them up.
         Meanwhile, the urban masses worked long hours with deplorable
         conditions and little pay. It was a kind of oligarchic
         society, one where these ``Captains of Industry'' wielded
         immense political and economic influence. Today, America is
         in a sort of Second Gilded Age-complete with drastic wealth
         inequality and a dangerous level of influence by the ultra-
         wealthy that is becoming ever nearer to oligarchy. Just 735
         billionaires hold more wealth than the bottom half of all
         American households.
           In order to reduce the concerning level of billionaire
         influence, many reforms must be enacted, but perhaps most
         important is a wealth tax. This could raise trillions of
         dollars for the government while also reducing the wealth and
         influence of billionaires over time. One such proposal would
         be Senator Bernie Sanders' plan, which would implement a
         progressive wealth tax, starting at one percent on net worth
         over $32 million, up to eight percent on net worth over $10
         billion. According to Sanders, this plan would cut in half
         the wealth of billionaires over just 15 years, greatly
         reducing wealth inequality and the power of the top 0.1
         percent.
           In addition to reducing the economic power of billionaires,
         their political influence must be reduced through the use of
         campaign finance reform-most importantly, overturning the
         2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC. This
         case eviscerated campaign finance regulations and essentially
         allowed unlimited contributions to political groups known as
         super PACs, such as the one Elon Musk donated to. While it
         may be difficult, passing a proposal such as the We the
         People Amendment would reverse the Citizens United decision
         by putting an end to the antidemocratic concepts that money
         equals political speech, and that corporations are people.
           While there is no simple solution to ending the dangerous
         influence of billionaires in American politics and the
         economy, through important legislative action such as a
         wealth tax and campaign finance reform, America can stop the
         encroachment of oligarchy on its society.

        Third Place, Ely White, Leland and Gray Union Middle High School

           Abraham Lincoln once said, ``a house divided against itself
         cannot stand.'' Speaking solemnly of the dire state of
         division in the United States leading up to the Civil War, it
         is now over a century later that his words resonate once
         more.
           Political polarization has grown in the past decade in the
         United States, transforming healthy debates of ideas into an
         endless battle of ``us'' against ``them.'' Division has
         infiltrated into all facets of American life, a political
         landscape where compromise is rare and partisan loyalty is
         prioritized. This deepening division threatens the ideals of
         our democracy, making it nearly impossible to address the
         critical issues that face our country today.
           A 2022 NBC News survey revealed that 80% of Americans
         believe the opposing party ``poses a threat that, if not
         stopped, will destroy America.'' This growing divide is
         evident in the 2018-19 government shutdown, when a standoff
         between Democrats and Republicans over border wall funding
         caused a 35-day gridlock. With neither side willing to
         compromise, 800,000 government workers went unpaid, and
         federal services became disrupted. Heightened polarization
         has normalized the prioritization of party loyalty over
         national needs, a theme of officials refusing to seek bi-
         partisan solutions even with critical federal services,
         workers, and decisions at stake.
           Beyond our boardrooms and capitals, division based on
         political views has become synonymous with what it means to
         be American. Pew Research Center's 2022 report on
         polarization shows that 72% of Republicans view Democrats as
         more immoral than other Americans, and 62% of Democrats say
         the same about Republicans. Political identity has become
         tribal in nature, a defining characteristic of one's morality
         and values. Political polarization strains relationships in
         families, communities, and workplaces, the American
         Psychological Association reporting that 38% of adults
         avoided conversations with people of opposing political
         views.
           Addressing solutions to America's political division is
         complex. Specific systemic reforms, however, can help reduce
         polarization by shifting the incentives that drive division.
         Ranked-choice voting (RCV) is a system that allows voters to
         rank candidates in order of preference, the votes for the
         lowest-ranking candidate then redistributed to voters' next
         choice until a majority is achieved. RCV would encourage
         candidates to appeal to broader ranges of voters rather than
         just their base, incentivizing politicians to take moderate
         stances rather than extreme party-driven positions. Reforming
         the closed primary system by adopting open or top-two systems
         would force candidates to appeal to a broader electorate,
         reducing the influence of extreme partisanship and
         encouraging more moderation. Integrating civic education and
         media literacy into our schools and communities could also
         work as a grassroots solution in helping individuals evaluate
         information and recognize bias in misinformation and
         ideological chambers.
           The future of our democracy depends on our ability to
         bridge divides and prioritize unity over partisanship. We
         must rebuild trust, restore faith in our institutions, and
         create a government that serves all Americans. Change begins
         with us- and we call and act for a system that brings us
         together, not tears us apart.

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