[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 10078-10093]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. CRAIG:
  S. 3421. A bill to authorize major medical facility projects and 
major medical facility leases for the Department of Veterans Affairs 
for fiscal years 2006 and 2007, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I seek recognition today to introduce 
legislation to authorize major medical facility projects and major 
medical facility leases for the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA. 
Most VA hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and research facilities have 
ongoing needs for maintenance, repair, and modernization to promote 
patient and employee safety and provide a higher standard of care for 
our Nation's veterans. Earlier this month, I held a hearing of the 
Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs on these needs, at which VA and a 
service organization representative delivered testimony about what is 
required in the next phase of addressing the needs of health care 
facilities for our Nation's veterans. In addition, several committee 
members and noncommittee colleagues remarked about the significance of 
these projects to their States. It is my belief that this bill will 
expand VA's ability to provide health care services to this group of 
deserving Americans. I will take a few moments now to explain the 
provisions of this legislation.
  First, the bill authorizes three major medical facility projects in 
immediate need of fiscal year 2006 authorization; the restoration of 
VA's health care infrastructure in the Biloxi and New Orleans areas 
following Hurricane Katrina, and the cost of land acquisition for 
replacement of the current Denver VA Medical Center with a new facility 
at the former Fitzsimons Army Medical Center. The Denver facility was 
constructed over a half-century ago and many of the core facilities 
have been deemed to be past or near the end of their useful life.
  Second, this legislation reauthorizes 18 major medical facility 
construction projects that were authorized under Public Law 108-170, 
but for which it is unlikely that contract awards will be accomplished 
by September 30, 2006, as required by that law. Therefore, for each of 
these projects, the draft bill extends the date by which contracts must 
be awarded, from September 30, 2006, September 20, 2009. These projects 
were identified and prioritized under the capital asset realignment for 
enhanced services process. CARES, as it has become known, is a market-
based national assessment of infrastructure needs that VA has developed 
into a schedule for completion. These projects represent the most 
pressing CARES-identified needs that VA has undertaken in order to 
improve access-to-care and provide services in areas of recent, 
current, and projected growth in veterans population, such as Las Vegas 
and Orlando. To allow a lapse in VA's authority to move forward on 
these projects would result in tremendous setbacks, and conceivably, 
additional taxpayer expense.
  Third, the legislation authorizes major medical facility leases that 
did not receive. authorization in the current fiscal for outpatient 
clinics in Baltimore, MD, Marion, IL, and the Dallas, TX, area. In 
addition, five major medical facility leases fiscal year 2007 are 
included for outpatient clinics in Austin, TX, Lowell, MA, Grand 
Rapids, MI, Las Vegas, NV, and Parma, OH.
  This legislation represents the administration's request of the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee and the Congress, with a significant 
exception. I have chosen not to authorize the six requested fiscal year 
2007 major medical facility construction projects at this time. I want 
to make it clear to my colleagues that my intent is not to micromanage 
VA's construction budget or to delay the Department's capital plan. And 
no one in the Senate is more committed to seeing that we are not 
diverting important resources away from facilities that are extremely 
important to our veterans. But as chairman of this committee, my 
approach puts Congress on record as expecting progress with the 18 
CARES projects on which we are extending authorizations, attaching a 
reasonable amount of money to those efforts, and then monitoring the 
progress closely from the Veterans' Committee. As we have seen with the 
need for significant and expensive Katrina-related construction, VA's 
capital plan requires consistent monitoring, frequent review and, at 
times, significant modification. But VA must finish some of what it has 
started before taking on new major projects.
  Over the next several weeks, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs will 
be taking up this bill and other legislation introduced to improve the 
range of services and benefits available to our Nation's veterans. I 
look forward to working with my colleagues throughout the rest of this 
Congress on these and other important efforts.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3421

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF FISCAL YEAR 2006 MAJOR MEDICAL 
                   FACILITY PROJECTS.

       The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may carry out the 
     following major medical facility projects in fiscal year 
     2006, with each project to be carried out in the amount 
     specified for that project:
       (1) Restoration, new construction or replacement of the 
     medical center facility for the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs Medical Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, due to damage 
     from Hurricane Katrina in an amount not to exceed 
     $675,000,000.
       (2) Restoration of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
     Medical Center, Biloxi, Mississippi, and consolidation of 
     services performed at the Department of Veterans Affairs 
     Medical Center, Gulfport, Mississippi, in an amount not to 
     exceed $310,000,000.

[[Page 10079]]

       (3) Replacement of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
     Medical Center, Denver, Colorado, in an amount not to exceed 
     $52,000,000.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION FOR MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY 
                   CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AUTHORIZED UNDER CAPITAL 
                   ASSET REALIGNMENT INITIATIVE.

       Notwithstanding subsection (d) of section 221 of the 
     Veterans Health Care, Capital Asset, and Business Improvement 
     Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-170; 117 Stat. 2050), the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs may enter into contracts before 
     September 30, 2009, to carry out each major medical facility 
     project, as originally authorized by such section 221, as 
     follows with each project to be carried out in the amount 
     specified for that project:
       (1) Construction of an outpatient clinic and regional 
     office at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 
     Anchorage, Alaska, in an amount not to exceed $75,270,000.
       (2) Consolidation of clinical and administrative functions 
     of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in 
     Cleveland, Ohio, and the Department of Veterans Affairs 
     Medical Center in Brecksville, Ohio, in an amount not to 
     exceed $102,300,000.
       (3) Construction of the Extended Care Building at the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Des Moines, 
     Iowa, in an amount not to exceed $25,000,000.
       (4) Renovation of patient wards at the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, in 
     an amount not to exceed $9,100,000.
       (5) Correction of patient privacy deficiencies at the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, 
     Florida, in an amount not to exceed $85,200,000.
       (6) 7th and 8th Floor Wards Modernization addition at the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Indianapolis, 
     Indiana, in an amount not to exceed $27,400,000.
       (7) Construction of a new Medical Center Facility at the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Las Vegas, 
     Nevada, in an amount not to exceed $406,000,000.
       (8) Construction of an Ambulatory Surgery/Outpatient 
     Diagnostic Support Center in the Gulf South Submarket of 
     Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 8 and completion 
     of Phase I land purchase, Lee County, Florida, in an amount 
     not to exceed $65,100,000.
       (9) Seismic Corrections-Buildings 7 & 126 at the Department 
     of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Long Beach, California, 
     in an amount not to exceed $107,845,000.
       (10) Seismic Corrections-Buildings 500 & 501 at the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Los Angeles, 
     California, in an amount not to exceed $79,900,000.
       (11) Construction of a New Medical Center facility in the 
     Orlando, Florida, area in an amount not to exceed 
     $377,700,000.
       (12) Consolidation of Campuses at the University Drive and 
     H. John Heinz III divisions, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in an 
     amount not to exceed $189,205,000.
       (13) Ward Upgrades and Expansion at the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, in an 
     amount not to exceed $19,100,000.
       (14) Seismic Corrections-Building 1, Phase 1 Design at the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Juan, 
     Puerto Rico, in an amount not to exceed $15,000,000.
       (15) Construction of a Spinal Cord Injury Center at the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Syracuse, New 
     York, in an amount not to exceed $53,900,000.
       (16) Upgrade Essential Electrical Distribution Systems at 
     the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Tampa, 
     Florida, in an amount not to exceed $49,000,000.
       (17) Expansion of the Spinal Cord Injury Center addition at 
     the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Tampa, 
     Florida, in an amount not to exceed $7,100,000.
       (18) Blind Rehabilitation and Psychiatric Bed renovation 
     and new construction project at the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs Medical Center, Temple, Texas, in an amount not to 
     exceed $56,000,000.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF FISCAL YEAR 2006 MAJOR MEDICAL 
                   FACILITY LEASES.

       The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may carry out the 
     following major medical facility leases in fiscal year 2006 
     at the locations specified, and in an amount for each lease 
     not to exceed the amount shown for such location:
       (1) For an outpatient clinic, Baltimore, Maryland, 
     $10,908,000.
       (2) For an outpatient clinic, Evansville, Illinois, 
     $8,989,000.
       (3) For an outpatient clinic, Smith County, Texas, 
     $5,093,000.

     SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF FISCAL YEAR 2007 MAJOR MEDICAL 
                   FACILITY LEASES.

       The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may carry out the 
     following major medical facility leases in fiscal year 2007 
     at the locations specified, and in an amount for each lease 
     not to exceed the amount shown for such location:
       (1) For an outpatient and specialty care clinic, Austin, 
     Texas, $6,163,000.
       (2) For an outpatient clinic, Lowell, Massachusetts, 
     $2,520,000.
       (3) For an outpatient clinic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 
     $4,409,000.
       (4) For up to four outpatient clinics, Las Vegas, Nevada, 
     $8,518,000.
       (5) For an outpatient clinic, Parma, Ohio, $5,032,000.

     SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) Authorization of Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2006 
     Major Medical Facility Projects.--There is authorized to be 
     appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for fiscal 
     year 2006 for the Construction, Major Projects, account, 
     $1,606,000,000 for the projects authorized in section 1.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations for Major Medical 
     Facility Projects Under Capital Asset Realignment 
     Initiative.--
       (1) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for 
     fiscal year 2007 for the Construction, Major Projects, 
     account, $1,750,120,000 for the projects whose authorization 
     is extended by section 2.
       (2) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
     authorization of appropriations in paragraph (1) shall remain 
     available until September 30, 2009.
       (c) Authorization of Appropriations for Major Medical 
     Facility Leases.--
       (1) Fiscal year 2006 leases.--There is authorized to be 
     appropriated for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for fiscal 
     year 2006 for the Medical Care account, $24,990,000 for the 
     leases authorized in section 4.
       (2) Fiscal year 2007 leases.--There is authorized to be 
     appropriated for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for fiscal 
     year 2007 for the Medical Care account, $26,642,000 for the 
     leases authorized in section 5.
       (d) Limitation.--The projects authorized in sections 1 and 
     2 may only be carried out using--
       (1) funds appropriated for fiscal year 2006 or 2007 
     pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in 
     subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section;
       (2) funds available for Construction, Major Projects, for a 
     fiscal year before fiscal year 2006 that remain available for 
     obligation;
       (3) funds available for Construction, Major Projects, for a 
     fiscal year after fiscal year 2006 or 2007 that are available 
     for obligation; and
       (4) funds appropriated for Construction, Major Projects, 
     for fiscal year 2006 or 2007 for a category of activity not 
     specific to a project.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Ms. MURKOWSKI:
  S. 3422. A bill to provide for the tax treatment of income received 
in connection with the litigation concerning the Exxon Valdez oil 
spill; to the Committee on Finance.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a bill that will 
help the commercial fishermen and others whose livelihoods were 
negatively impacted by the Exxon Valdez oilspill.
  As all of us know, the Exxon Valdez ran aground on March 23, 1989, 
spilling 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound in Alaska. 
A class action jury trial was held in Federal court in Anchorage, AK, 
in 1994. The plaintiffs included 32,000 fishermen among others whose 
livelihoods were gravely affected by this disaster. The jury awarded $5 
billion in punitive damages to the plaintiff class. The punitive damage 
award has been on repeated appeal by the Exxon Corporation since 1994. 
Many of the original plaintiffs, possibly more than 1,000 people, have 
already died.
  Once the punitive damage award of the Exxon Valdez litigation is 
settled, many fishermen will receive payments to reimburse them for 
fishing income lost due to the environmental consequences of the Exxon 
Valdez oilspill. It is estimated that the eventual settlement could be 
$6.75 billion or more.
  My bill gives the affected fishermen, as well as other plaintiffs in 
this case, a fair shake when it comes to contributions to retirement 
plans and averaging of income for tax purposes.
  With respect to retirement plan contributions, my bill increases the 
caps on both deductions and income for traditional IRAs to the extent 
of the income a plaintiff receives from the settlement or judgment. 
Also, it allows the plaintiffs to make contributions to Roth IRAs and 
other retirement plans to the extent of the income received from the 
settlement or judgment.
  Fishermen are currently allowed to average their income over a 
several year period due to the often inconsistent nature of the fishing 
business. The litigation stemming from the Exxon Valdez oilspill poses 
an even more unique situation since fishermen and other plaintiffs have 
been waiting to receive lost income--in the form of a settlement or 
judgment--for 12 years. My bill allows plaintiffs to average their 
income for the period of time between December 31 of the year they 
receive the settlement or judgment payment and January 1, 1994--the 
year of

[[Page 10080]]

the original jury award in Federal court.
  It is imperative that we address this important issue soon. The Exxon 
Corporation has appealed this case and a decision is expected later 
this year.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3422

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. TAX TREATMENT OF INCOME RECEIVED IN CONNECTION 
                   WITH THE EXXON VALDEZ LITIGATION.

       (a) Income Averaging of Amounts Received From the Exxon 
     Valdez Litigation.--
       (1) In general.--At the election of a qualified taxpayer 
     who receives qualified settlement income during a taxable 
     year, the tax imposed by chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 for such taxable year shall be equal to the sum 
     of--
       (A) the tax which would be imposed under such chapter if--
       (i) no amount of elected qualified settlement income were 
     included in gross income for such year, and
       (ii) no deduction were allowed for such year for expenses 
     (otherwise allowable as a deduction to the taxpayer for such 
     year) attributable to such elected qualified settlement 
     income, plus
       (B) the increase in tax under such chapter which would 
     result if taxable income for each of the years in the 
     applicable period were increased by an amount equal to the 
     applicable fraction of the elected qualified settlement 
     income reduced by any expenses (otherwise allowable as a 
     deduction to the taxpayer) attributable to such elected 
     qualified settlement income.

     Any adjustment under this section for any taxable year shall 
     be taken into account in applying this section for any 
     subsequent taxable year.
       (2) Coordination with farm income averaging.--If a 
     qualified taxpayer makes an election with respect to any 
     qualified settlement income under paragraph (1) for any 
     taxable year, such taxpayer may not elect to treat such 
     amount as elected farm income under section 1301 of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
       (3) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
       (A) Applicable period.--The term ``applicable period'' 
     means the period beginning on January 1, 1994, and ending on 
     December 31 of the year in which the elected qualified 
     settlement income is received.
       (B) Applicable fraction.--The term ``applicable fraction'' 
     means the fraction the numerator of which is one and the 
     denominator of which is the number of years in the applicable 
     period.
       (C) Elected qualified settlement income.--The term 
     ``elected qualified settlement income'' means so much of the 
     taxable income for the taxable year which is--
       (i) qualified settlement income, and
       (ii) specified under the election under paragraph (1).
       (b) Contributions of Amounts Received to Retirement 
     Accounts.--
       (1) In general.--Any qualified taxpayer who receives 
     qualified settlement income during the taxable year may, at 
     any time before the end of the taxable year in which such 
     income was received, make one or more contributions to an 
     eligible retirement plan of which such qualified taxpayer is 
     a beneficiary in an aggregate amount not to exceed the amount 
     of qualified settlement income received during such year.
       (2) Time when contributions deemed made.--For purposes of 
     paragraph (1), a qualified taxpayer shall be deemed to have 
     made a contribution to an eligible retirement plan on the 
     last day of the taxable year in which such income is received 
     if the contribution is made on account of such taxable year 
     and is made not later than the time prescribed by law for 
     filing the return for such taxable year (not including 
     extensions thereof).
       (3) Treatment of contributions to eligible retirement 
     plans.--For purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, if 
     a contribution is made pursuant to paragraph (1) with respect 
     to qualified settlement income, then--
       (A) except as provided in paragraph (4)--
       (i) to the extent of such contribution, the qualified 
     settlement income shall not be included in taxable income, 
     and
       (ii) for purposes of section 72 of such Code, such 
     contribution shall not be considered to be investment in the 
     contract, and
       (B) the qualified taxpayer shall, to the extent of the 
     amount of the contribution, be treated--
       (i) as having received the qualified settlement income--

       (I) in the case of a contribution to an individual 
     retirement plan (as defined under section 7701(a)(37) such 
     Code), in a distribution described in section 408(d)(3) of 
     such Code, and
       (II) in the case of any other eligible retirement plan, in 
     an eligible rollover distribution (as defined under section 
     402(f)(2) of such Code), and

       (ii) as having transferred the amount to the eligible 
     retirement plan in a direct trustee to trustee transfer 
     within 60 days of the distribution.
       (4) Special rule for roth iras and roth 401(k)s.--For 
     purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, if a 
     contribution is made pursuant to paragraph (1) with respect 
     to qualified settlement income to a Roth IRA (as defined 
     under section 408A(b) of such Code) or as a designated Roth 
     contribution to an applicable retirement plan (within the 
     meaning of section 402A of such Code), then--
       (A) the qualified settlement income shall be includible in 
     taxable income, and
       (B) for purposes of section 72 of such Code, such 
     contribution shall be considered to be investment in the 
     contract.
       (5) Eligible retirement plan.--For purpose of this 
     subsection, the term ``eligible retirement plan'' has the 
     meaning given such term under section 402(c)(8)(B) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
       (c) Qualified Settlement Income Not Included in SECA.--For 
     purposes of chapter 2 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
     and section 211 of the Social Security Act, no portion of 
     qualified settlement income shall be treated as gross income 
     derived from a trade or business carried on by a qualified 
     taxpayer.
       (d) Qualified Taxpayer.--For purposes of this section, the 
     term ``qualified taxpayer'' means any plaintiff in the civil 
     action In re Exxon Valdez, No. 89-095-CV (HRH) (Consolidated) 
     (D. Alaska).
       (e) Qualified Settlement Income.--For purposes of this 
     section, the term ``qualified settlement income'' means 
     income received (whether as lump sums or periodic payments) 
     in connection with the civil action In re Exxon Valdez, No. 
     89-095-CV (HRH) (Consolidated) (D. Alaska).
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. SANTORUM:
  S. 3432. A bill to protect children from exploitation by adults over 
the Internet, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, over the past few years, we have heard 
the tragic stories of how sexual predators have targeted children in 
our states. We have seen troubling headlines from Pennsylvania and 
across the country, and the frequency seems to be increasing rather 
than decreasing. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 
in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal 
Inspection Service, state and local law enforcement, and Internet 
Crimes Against Children Task Forces operates the CyberTipline. The 
number of referrals to the ICAC task forces has increased from 2,002 
referrals in January-March 2005 to 3,392 referrals in January-March 
2006. Additionally, the prosecutions in child pornography and child 
abuse cases have increased nearly every year since 1995.
  Recently Congress has heard disturbing and saddening accounts of how 
these predators have used the Internet to exploit our children. As a 
father of six, I am keenly aware of the dangers to our children and the 
concerns of parents across Pennsylvania and the Nation. In February, 
the Department of Justice launched Project Safe Childhood, a initiative 
to ``combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual 
exploitation crimes against children.''
  ``Project Safe Childhood'' has five main purposes. First, it seeks to 
integrate Federal, State, and local efforts to investigate and 
prosecute child exploitation cases including partnerships by each U.S. 
Attorney with each Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in their 
district, other Federal, State, and local law enforcement, and 
community and faith-based organizations to develop district-specific 
strategic plans to combat and prosecute child exploitation crimes. 
Second, the Project allows major case coordination by the Department of 
Justice or other appropriate Federal agency. Third, it increases 
Federal involvement in child exploitation cases by providing additional 
investigative tools and increased penalties available under Federal 
law. Fourth, the Project provides increased training of Federal, State, 
and local law enforcement regarding the investigation and prosecution 
of computer-facilitated crimes against children. Finally, it promotes 
community awareness and educational programs to raise national 
awareness about the threat of

[[Page 10081]]

online sexual predators and to provide information to families on how 
to report possible violations.
  According to recent Congressional testimony from Alice S. Fisher, 
Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of the Criminal Division, and from 
William W. Mercer, Principle Associate Deputy Attorney General noted, 
this initiative is working.
  On May 17, 2006, the Department of Justice released a document that 
outlines the need for this project, an overview of the program and 
guides for how law enforcement, parents, teachers, and communities can 
come together to implement this program effectively. While I am 
encouraged by the DOJ actions to raise the profile and enforcement 
through Project Safe Childhood--and appreciate all that many at the 
Department of Justice and the State and local levels are doing to catch 
and prosecute these predators--I am concerned that this program does 
not have the legislative authorization or dedicated funding that it 
needs to accomplish its goal of protecting our children.
  I intend to work to help the Department of Justice fully implement 
and expand this initiative, therefore, I am introducing the Project 
Safe Childhood Authorization Act. Specifically, the bill will authorize 
and expand Project Safe Childhood; add new elements regarding child 
exploitation crimes that have been requested by the Department of 
Justice to strengthen the requirements to effectively report child 
pornography, require warning labels on commercial Websites that contain 
sexually explicit material, and prohibit the embedding of words or 
images on a Website in order to deceive individuals into viewing 
obscenity or material harmful to minors; increase penalties for 
registered sex offenders, child sex trafficking and sexual abuse, and 
other child exploitation crimes; create Children's Safety Online 
Awareness Campaigns; and authorize grants for online child safety 
programs.
  The bill authorizes $18 million for fiscal year 2007 for the initial 
implementation of Project Safe Childhood, and up to $29 million for the 
expansion of the program for fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may be 
necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.
  I know all of us--particularly those of us with children--want to 
know how to keep our children safe, and want to know that anyone that 
endangers or harms our children will be punished. I am glad to be here 
to take this important step in protecting our children. I hope my 
colleagues will agree with me and we will pass the Project Safe 
Childhood Authorization Act this year.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DODD:
  S. 3449. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to improve the 
quality and availability of mental health services for children and 
adolescents; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions,
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation that seeks 
to meet the mental health needs of children and adolescents.
  I believe that the task of ensuring the emotional well-being and 
resiliency of our young people is one of paramount importance. We all 
know that mental health is a critical component contributing to a 
child's general health and ability to grow--both intellectually and 
physically. Yet, the task of ensuring the mental health of children and 
adolescents is not an easy one. In fact, it is arguably one of the most 
difficult and largely unspoken tasks facing our Nation today.
  According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration, one in ten children and adolescents suffers from mental 
health disorders serious enough to cause some level of impairment. Out 
of these young people, only one in five receives the specialty mental 
health services they require.
  These startling statistics prompted former Surgeon General Dr. David 
Satcher to convene a conference in 1999 that examined the mental health 
needs of children. The conference--composed of some of the Nation's 
leading experts in mental and public health--published a seminal report 
that concluded that
`` . . . the burden of suffering experienced by children with mental 
illness and their families has created a health crisis in this 
country.'' The report further concluded that ``. . . there is broad 
evidence that the Nation lacks a unified infrastructure to help 
children suffering from mental illness.''
  I would like to submit for the Record personal testimony offered by 
three families in Connecticut. I believe their words and experiences 
speak most directly to the ``burden of suffering'' described in Surgeon 
General Satcher's report--a burden endured by millions of children, 
adolescents, and then families nationwide. I ask unanimous consent that 
this testimony be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                               Testimony

       Dear Senator Dodd, I wanted to take a moment to share with 
     you what my experience has been navigating services for my 
     son who has been diagnosed with severe psychosis and bipolar 
     disorder. Due to the lack of psychiatric services when the 
     extended day program my son attended was closed down, my son 
     as well as seven other kids where left without the services 
     they so needed. After a couple of weeks they started to have 
     meltdowns. My son was one of them. The fact that he attended 
     a therapeutic school didn't at this point make a difference. 
     After two short hospitalizations (one was for two weeks the 
     other four weeks) my son, who is 12 years old, has been 
     sitting at [a mental health services facility] for the past 9 
     weeks awaiting availability for sub-acute care. In the 
     meantime he is not receiving the level of care that he needs.
       Services are so limited at this point in time that because 
     of time of delivery children who may have benefitted from 
     less intensive intervention are being put in a position where 
     by the time they receive care they are in need of higher 
     level care that to me doesn't seem very cost effective when 
     you look at long term care. I often think about what would be 
     different if my child was diabetic. Would he only receive 
     services when available, and would they be appropriate to his 
     medical needs?
       I can't explain in one letter what my son's illness has 
     done to our family and how difficult it is for all of us. 
     Mental Health is a cruel monster who enters your life in 
     sometimes undetected ways and when it finally attacks the 
     blow can be fatal. The media has succeeded in painting a 
     picture of individuals like my son as real dangers to society 
     if not in proper treatment but what they have failed to shed 
     light on is the lack of such services. My son deserves a 
     better quality of services as well as a better quality of 
     life.
                                  ____

       Dear Senator Dodd, The following is to share some of what 
     my family is struggling with due to my son's mental illness. 
     My son has been diagnosed with severe depression and mood 
     disorder; he has mutilated himself various times and is a 
     cutter. [My son] has been hospitalized three times due to 
     this ongoing behavior; he is in need of sub-acute treatment 
     but has only received stabilization services and out-patient 
     services because the level of treatment that he needs is not 
     available for boys 14 years or older. In the meantime we have 
     extended day programs, voluntary services as well as systems 
     of care in place yet the services he needs are not available. 
     For a mother with three additional children with special 
     needs I have serious concerns for my son's safety. Who will 
     be accountable if at some point my son succeeds in taking his 
     own life when I have seeked services and I am told over and 
     over again that they are not available?
       I really would like Congress to take a look at the great 
     deal of families fighting our own personal battles with these 
     unseen enemies. We need weapons if we are to win these 
     battles. We need more psychiatric services made available to 
     all of our children regardless of age or gender.
                                  ____

       Senator Dodd, My son was always ``different,'' 
     ``difficult,'' and ``didn't socialize well with the other 
     children,'' according to the daycare centers, camps, after 
     school programs and even in the early part of kindergarten. 
     His kindergarten school teacher was concerned enough to refer 
     us to the school social worker when he held a plastic knife 
     up to a fellow classmates throat and said he was going to 
     slit it. She suggested parenting classes and perhaps family 
     therapy. Since it was only my son and I as I was divorced and 
     his father was not in the picture, of course I eagerly 
     complied. I brought him to his pediatrician as well, who 
     suggested behavior modification and consistency. No one was 
     more consistent than I was a parent. I learned this early on 
     with my son.
       I sat through hours of parenting tapes, learning nothing 
     new, while my son played with Legos and puppets. This service 
     was on a sliding fee scale offered by our town and even so 
     all I could afford to go was every other week. When my son 
     was seven years old I woke up in the wee hours of the morning 
     to find him standing in the middle of the

[[Page 10082]]

     kitchen surrounded by knives holding onto one in each hand. 
     Although I was shocked and more scared than I had ever been 
     in my entire life I instinctively knew I had to stay calm, 
     that this was something beyond his control. I asked him what 
     he was doing up, maintaining eye contact, and he said that 
     there was a devil on one side telling him to hurt himself and 
     an angel on the other telling him not to. I gathered up the 
     knives as he was talking and spoke gently to my son who was 
     so clearly in such pain. He gave me the knives without even 
     realizing he was doing it, and I scooped him up and we waited 
     for his psychiatrist's office to open. He had been seeing a 
     psychiatrist for 6 months or so, and was on stimulants for 
     ADHD (the first diagnosis of choice as usual for children).
       The doctor immediately added depression with psychotic 
     features as another diagnosis and suggested hospitalization. 
     The first of many hospitalizations my son would experience 
     and the doctor also added an antipsychotic and antidepressant 
     medication to the regiment. My son was in the hospital for 10 
     days and was no better, so additional diagnoses were added, 
     oppositional defiant disorder, impulse control disorder and 
     anxiety disorder as well as more medications. He started 
     individual therapy regularly, seeing the psychiatrist and 
     along with the medications the co-pays were more than I could 
     afford, I applied for HUSKY. I was accepted, thankfully I 
     thought at the time.
       My son was rapidly becoming worse, so I went to the 
     Department of Children and Families for help through 
     Voluntary Services. This is insulting to caring parents 
     trying to find help for their children as the request has to 
     be made via the Hotline and is an embarrassment. However, it 
     is the only way to gain access to certain services in the 
     State that are not offered through private insurance 
     companies. By now, my son is almost ten years old and has 
     been hospitalized many times, in several partial 
     hospitalizations, intensive outpatient hospitalization 
     programs and extended day treatment programs. He has also 
     been removed from the public school systems special education 
     program and out-placed into a therapeutic day program for 
     school out of district.
       I made a call to the head of a psychiatric unit at a 
     hospital who I had come to know through my work to ask for a 
     referral for my son as I thought perhaps this was something 
     more than what the doctors were saying. He referred me to 
     Mass. General's Pediatric Psychopharmacology Unit. I called, 
     my son was seen within 3 weeks and a diagnosis of Early Onset 
     Bipolar Disorder as well as Major Multiple Anxiety Disorder 
     was given. My son had already had an appointment with a new 
     psychiatrist within the next couple of weeks and medications 
     were changed to reflect the new diagnosis--unfortunately, too 
     little too late.
       My son, ended up in the hospital for 3 months and then in a 
     sub-acute unit 4\1/2\ months, despite all of the in-home 
     services we had on board, partially because the waiting time 
     between services were detrimental and the length of the 
     services were not long enough. When the service finally 
     started to work, it was time to pull out. My son never 
     engaged in any service because he knew if he got attached to 
     anyone they were going to be gone in a short time anyway and 
     his attitude was why bother? I can't say I blamed him. For a 
     child who needed consistency in his life there wasn't a lot 
     of it with the providers. He went to a residential setting 
     for 18 months following the sub-acute unit and finally came 
     back home. On his last day at the residential treatment 
     center he was assaulted by a staff member who was found 
     guilty and fired. At the same time, HUSKY notified me, that 
     my premium would increase to 221.00 per month as I was over 
     the income limit by 200.00 for a family of 2. I called and 
     tried to plead my case, as they were unaware of my living 
     expenses, such as rent, past medical bills I was trying to 
     catch up on, etc. but they go by gross income and don't take 
     into account any other issues. I placed my son on my work 
     insurance once again. Try as I might, I ended up filing for 
     bankruptcy two years later, the ultimate embarrassment as far 
     as I was concerned.
       When my son came home, the discharge plan was to send him 
     to a summer program called the Wilderness School for the 
     summer. Unbeknownst to us this program was for juvenile 
     delinquents who were in trouble with the law for the majority 
     of their lives and in and out of the system. My son was 
     petrified, and refused to stay, even saying he would hurt 
     himself if they made him stay. I picked him up 1\1/2\ days 
     after dropping him off and scrambled to find childcare for 
     the summer once again.
       Whether a family uses their own insurance or State 
     insurance and services, it is a catch 22. With private 
     insurance, services are extremely limited; both time limited 
     and the type of service that is available is limited. With 
     HUSKY, finding providers is extremely difficult. There are no 
     specialists that will take HUSKY patients, dentists, 
     orthodontists, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, therapists 
     and the list goes on. As a parent trying to do the best for 
     her child it was very frustrating getting the door shut in my 
     face no matter where I turned for help. All I wanted was to 
     get my son the medical attention he so desperately needed, 
     and I had to fight for everything. In an already traumatic 
     time in my little family's life, this was an unnecessary 
     added burden.
       My son is now a junior, still in special education, but in 
     a public high school. He's doing remarkably and I can say 
     that it isn't due to the services that he received but to his 
     own strength and courage to fight his way back and make it on 
     his own. His is truly an incredible young man and I am so 
     proud of him. I have a bumper sticker that reads, ``I am a 
     proud parent of an honor roll student'' which I never thought 
     I would have. He earned that on his own.
       Thank you for this opportunity to share my story.

  Mr. DODD. I thank these families for sharing their personal 
experiences with me, and for following me to share their experiences 
publicly. More importantly, I commend their tenacity in facing the 
challenges they face each and every day in caring for their children. 
Their stories, along with the stories I have heard from other families 
in Connecticut and elsewhere in the country, have fueled my belief that 
child and adolescent mental health needs to be a top priority.
  Recognizing the fragmentation of the Nation's mental health delivery 
system, Surgeon General Satcher's report concluded that one fundamental 
way to meet the mental--health needs of children and adolescents is to 
``. . . move towards a community-based mental health delivery system 
that balances health promotion, disease prevention, early detection, 
and universal access to care.'' The report further stated eight goals 
to ensure the resiliency of children and adolescents. These goals were: 
first, to promote public awareness of children's mental health issues 
and reduce stigma associated with mental illness; second, to continue 
to develop, disseminate, and implement scientifically-proven prevention 
and treatment services in the field of children's mental health; third, 
to improve the assessment of and recognition of mental health needs in 
children; fourth, to eliminate racial, ethnic and socioeconomic 
disparities in access to mental health care services; fifth, to improve 
the infrastructure for children's mental health services, including 
support for scientifically-proven interventions across professions; 
sixth, to increase access to and coordination of quality mental health 
care services; seventh, to train frontline providers to recognize and 
manage mental health issues, and educate mental healthcare providers 
about scientifically-proven prevention and treatment services, and; 
finally, to monitor the access to and coordination of quality mental 
health care services.
  In 2002, President Bush established the President's New Freedom 
Commission on Mental Health to study three obstacles identified by the 
President that prevent Americans with mental illness from getting the 
care they require. These obstacles were identified as the stigma that 
surrounds mental health care, a lack of mental health parity, and the 
fragmented mental health delivery system. In 2003, the President's New 
Freedom Commission issued a report that made a series of 
recommendations on how the Nation's mental health system could be 
transformed for the better. Like Surgeon General Satcher's report, this 
publication also set forth a series of goals. They were: first, to 
ensure Americans understand that mental health is essential to overall 
health; second, to ensure that mental health care is consumer- and 
family-driven; third, to eliminate disparities in mental health care 
services; fourth, to ensure that early mental health screening, 
assessment, and referral services are common practices; fifth, to 
ensure that excellent mental health care is delivered and research is 
accelerated, and; finally, to ensure that technology is used to access 
mental health care and information.
  I describe these two reports because the legislation I am introducing 
today seeks to address the recommendations they espouse. My 
legislation, the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Resiliency Act of 
2006, authorizes $210 million in an effort to meet five principal 
objectives.
  The first objective is to increase access to, and improve the quality 
of, mental health care services delivered

[[Page 10083]]

to children and adolescents. My legislation seeks to meet this 
objective in several ways.
  First, it authorizes a new grant of $50 million for States to develop 
and implement a comprehensive mental health plan exclusively for 
children and adolescents that provides community-based mental health 
early intervention and prevention services and relevant support 
services, such as primary health care, education, transportation and 
housing. The plan would have to meet a set of core operational and 
evaluative requirements and would have to be developed through 
extensive outside consultation with children and adolescents, their 
families, advocates and health professionals.
  Second, my legislation authorizes two matching grants of $22.5 
million each for community health centers--many of which primarily 
serve low-income populations and primary health care facilities, such 
as a pediatrician's office, to provide community-based mental health 
services in coordination with community mental health centers and/or 
trained mental health professionals.
  Third, my legislation authorizes a new grant of $22.5 million for 
States, localities and private nonprofit organizations--e.g., school 
districts--to provide community-based mental health services in schools 
appropriate mental health training activities to relevant school and 
health professionals.
  Fourth, my legislation authorizes a new grant of $20 million for 
States, localities and private nonprofit organizations to provide 
community-based mental health services specifically for at-risk mothers 
and their children.
  Fifth, my legislation authorizes a new grant of $10 million for 
States, localities and private nonprofit organizations to provide 
community-based mental health services for children and adolescents in 
juvenile justice systems.
  Sixth, my legislation authorizes $10 million for the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services to establish, run and evaluate a 
demonstration project that improves the ability of local case managers 
to work across the mental health, public health, substance abuse, child 
welfare, education, juvenile justice and social services systems in a 
State.
  Finally, my legislation requires States to meet their statutory 
obligations to fund fully mental health screening services under the 
Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment Services 
Program. It also requires current successful initiatives, such as the 
Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children with 
Serious Emotional Disturbance Program, the Community Mental Health 
Services Performance Partnership Block Grant, the Community Mental 
Health Services Block Grant, and the Jail Diversion Program, to expand 
their scope with respect to certain reporting, evaluative, and service 
activities.
  The second objective my legislation seeks to meet is ensuring greater 
public awareness and greater family participation in mental health 
services decision-making. Towards this end, my legislation does the 
following:
  First, it authorizes a new grant of $10 million for States, 
localities and private nonprofit organizations to develop policies that 
enable families of children and adolescents with mental health 
disorders to have increased control and choice over mental health 
services provided and received through a publicly-funded mental health 
system.
  Second, it authorizes a new grant of $10 million for private 
nonprofit organizations to provide information on child and adolescent 
mental health disorders, services, support services and respite care to 
families of children and adolescents with or who are at risk for mental 
health disorders.
  Third, it authorizes a new grant of $10 million for private nonprofit 
organizations to develop community coalitions and public education 
activities that promote child and adolescent resiliency.
  In addition, my legislation authorizes $10 million to establish two 
new technical assistance centers. These centers are designed to collect 
and disseminate information on mental health disorders, mental health 
disorder risk factors, mental health services, mental health service 
access, relevant support services, reducing seclusion and restraints, 
and family participation in mental health service decision-making--
exclusively for children and adolescents with or at risk of mental 
health disorders.
  The third objective that this legislation seeks to meet is for the 
Federal Government to develop a policy specifically designed to meet 
the unique mental health needs of children and adolescents. The 
legislation authorizes $10 million for the establishment of an 
interagency coordinating committee consisting of all Federal officials 
whose departments or agencies oversee mental health activities for 
children and adolescents. Modeled after language in the Garrett Lee 
Smith Memorial Act, my legislation requires the coordinating committee 
to consult with outside parties, develop a Federal policy exclusively 
pertaining to child and adolescent mental health, and report annually 
to Congress on specific challenges and solutions associated with 
comprehensively addressing the mental health needs of children and 
adolescents.
  The fourth and final objective that this legislation seeks to meet is 
increasing the amount of research into child and adolescent mental 
health. Only through intensive research can we develop evidence-based 
best practices that allow us to develop services that fully meet the 
mental health needs of our children. Towards that end, my legislation 
authorizes a new grant of $12.5 million for States, localities, 
institutions of higher education and private nonprofit organizations to 
identify and research current service, training and information 
awareness gaps in mental health delivery systems for children and 
adolescents. My legislation also authorizes $12.5 million to enhance 
comprehensive Federal research and evaluation of promising best 
practices, existing disparities, psychotropic medications, trauma, 
recovery and rehabilitation, and co-occurring disorders as they relate 
to child and adolescent mental health.
  My colleague on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, 
Chairman Enzi, has indicated a desire to bring up the Substance Abuse 
and Mental Health Services Administration reauthorization measure soon. 
It is my hope that this legislation can contribute to that 
reauthorization effort.
  I would like to conclude by saying that this legislation, while 
comprehensive, is a first step--not a complete solution--towards fully 
meeting the challenge of ensuring the resiliency of our children and 
adolescents. We need to continue working together--young people, 
families, doctors, counselors, nurses, teachers, advocates, and 
policymakers--since we all have a stake, either professional or 
personal--in this issue. Only by working together can we develop 
effective and compassionate ways through which every young person in 
this nation is given a solid foundation upon which to reach his or her 
dreams in life.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of this legislation be printed 
in the Congressional Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3449

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Child and 
     Adolescent Mental Health Resiliency Act of 2006''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.

TITLE I--STATE AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES CONCERNING THE MENTAL HEALTH OF 
                        CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

Sec. 101. Grants concerning comprehensive state mental health plans.
Sec. 102. Grants concerning early intervention and prevention.
Sec. 103. Activities concerning mental health services in schools.

[[Page 10084]]

Sec. 104. Activities concerning mental health services under the early 
              and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment 
              services program.
Sec. 105. Activities concerning mental health services for at-risk 
              mothers and their children.
Sec. 106. Activities concerning interagency case management.
Sec. 107. Grants concerning consumer and family participation.
Sec. 108. Grants concerning information on child and adolescent mental 
              health services.
Sec. 109. Activities concerning public education of child and 
              adolescent mental health disorders and services.
Sec. 110. Technical assistance center concerning training and seclusion 
              and restraints.
Sec. 111. Technical assistance centers concerning consumer and family 
              participation.
Sec. 112. Comprehensive community mental health services for children 
              and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances.
Sec. 113. Community mental health services performance partnership 
              block grant.
Sec. 114. Community mental health services block grant program.
Sec. 115. Grants for jail diversion programs.

   TITLE II--FEDERAL INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION AND RELATED ACTIVITIES

Sec. 201. Interagency coordinating committee concerning the mental 
              health of children and adolescents.

TITLE III--RESEARCH ACTIVITIES CONCERNING THE MENTAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN 
                            AND ADOLESCENTS

Sec. 301. Activities concerning evidence-based or promising best 
              practices.
Sec. 302. Federal research concerning adolescent mental health.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) According to the Surgeon General's Conference on 
     Children's Mental Health: A National Action Agenda, mental 
     health is a critical component of children's learning and 
     general health.
       (2) According to the Surgeon General's Conference on 
     Children's Mental Health: A National Action Agenda, one in 10 
     children and adolescents suffer from mental illness severe 
     enough to cause some level of impairment.
       (3) According to the Surgeon General's Conference on 
     Children's Mental Health: A National Action Agenda, only one 
     in five children and adolescents who suffer from severe 
     mental illness receive the specialty mental health services 
     they require.
       (4) According to the World Health Organization, childhood 
     neuropsychiatric disorders will rise by over 50 percent by 
     2020, internationally, to become one of the five most common 
     causes of morbidity, mortality, and disability among 
     children.
       (5) According to the Surgeon General's Conference on 
     Children's Mental Health: A National Action Agenda, the 
     burden of suffering experienced by children with mental 
     illness and their families has created a health crisis in 
     this country.
       (6) According to the Surgeon General's Conference on 
     Children's Mental Health: A National Action Agenda, there is 
     broad evidence that the nation lacks a unified infrastructure 
     to help children suffering from mental illness;
       (7) According to the President's New Freedom Commission on 
     Mental Health, President George Bush identified three 
     obstacles preventing Americans with mental illness from 
     getting the care they require: stigma that surrounds mental 
     illness; unfair treatment limitations and financial 
     requirements placed on mental health benefits in private 
     health insurance, and; the fragmented mental health service 
     delivery system.
       (8) According to the Surgeon General's Conference on 
     Children's Mental Health: A National Action Agenda, one way 
     to ensure that the country's health system meets the mental 
     health needs of children is to move towards a community-based 
     mental health delivery system that balances health promotion, 
     disease prevention, early detection, and universal access to 
     care.
       (9) According to the President's New Freedom Commission on 
     Mental Health, transforming the country's mental health 
     delivery system rests on two principles: services and 
     treatments must be consumer and family-centered, and; care 
     must focus on increasing a person's ability to successfully 
     cope with life's challenges, on facilitating recovery, and 
     building resiliency.
       (10) According to the Surgeon General's Conference on 
     Children's Mental Health: A National Action Agenda, the 
     mental health and resiliency of children can be ensured by 
     methods that: promote public awareness of children's mental 
     health issues and reduce stigma associated with mental 
     illness; continue to develop, disseminate, and implement 
     scientifically-proven prevention and treatment services in 
     the field of children's mental health; improve the assessment 
     of and recognition of mental health needs in children; 
     eliminate racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in 
     access to mental healthcare services; improve the 
     infrastructure for children's mental health services, 
     including support for scientifically-proven interventions 
     across professions; increase access to and coordination of 
     quality mental healthcare services; train frontline providers 
     to recognize and manage mental health issues, and educate 
     mental healthcare providers about scientifically-proven 
     prevention and treatment services, and; monitor the access to 
     and coordination of quality mental healthcare services.
       (11) According to the President's New Freedom Commission on 
     Mental Health, the country's mental health delivery system 
     can be successfully transformed by methods that: ensure 
     Americans understand that mental health is essential to 
     overall health; ensure mental health care is consumer and 
     family-driven; eliminate disparities in mental healthcare 
     services; ensure early mental health screening, assessment, 
     and referral services are common practices; ensure that 
     excellent mental health care is delivered and research is 
     accelerated, and; technology is used to access mental health 
     care and information.

TITLE I--STATE AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES CONCERNING THE MENTAL HEALTH OF 
                        CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

     SEC. 101. GRANTS CONCERNING COMPREHENSIVE STATE MENTAL HEALTH 
                   PLANS.

       Subpart 3 of part B of title V of the Public Health Service 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-31 et seq.) is amended by inserting 
     after section 520A, the following:

     ``SEC. 520B. COMPREHENSIVE STATE MENTAL HEALTH PLANS.

       ``(a) Grants.--The Secretary, acting through the Center for 
     Mental Health Services, shall award a 1-year, non-renewable 
     grant to, or enter into a 1-year cooperative agreement with, 
     a State for the development and implementation by the State 
     of a comprehensive State mental health plan that exclusively 
     meets the mental health needs of children and adolescents, 
     including providing for early intervention, prevention, and 
     recovery oriented services and supports for children and 
     adolescents, such as mental and primary health care, 
     education, transportation, and housing.
       ``(b) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under this section a State shall submit 
     to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 
     and containing such information as the Secretary may require, 
     including--
       ``(1) a certification by the governor of the State that the 
     governor will be responsible for overseeing the development 
     and implementation of the comprehensive State mental health 
     plan; and
       ``(2) the signature of the governor of the State.
       ``(c) Requirements.--The Comprehensive State Plan shall 
     include the following:
       ``(1) An evaluation of all the components of the current 
     mental health system in the State, including the estimated 
     number of children and adolescents requiring and receiving 
     mental health services, as well as support services such as 
     primary health care, education, and housing.
       ``(2) A description of the long-term objectives of the 
     State for policies concerning children and adolescents with 
     mental disorders. Such objectives shall include--
       ``(A) the provision of early intervention and prevention 
     services to children and adolescents with, or who are at risk 
     for, mental health disorders that are integrated with school 
     systems, educational institutions, juvenile justice systems, 
     substance abuse programs, mental health programs, primary 
     care programs, foster care systems, and other child and 
     adolescent support organizations;
       ``(B) a demonstrated collaboration among agencies that 
     provide early intervention and prevention services or a 
     certification that entities will engage in such future 
     collaboration;
       ``(C) implementing or providing for the evaluation of 
     children and adolescents mental health services that are 
     adapted to the local community;
       ``(D) implementing collaborative activities concerning 
     child and adolescent mental health early intervention and 
     prevention services;
       ``(E) the provision of timely appropriate community-based 
     mental health care and treatment of children and adolescents 
     in child and adolescent-serving settings and agencies;
       ``(F) the provision of adequate support and information 
     resources to families of children and adolescents with, or 
     who are at risk for, mental health disorders;
       ``(G) the provision of adequate support and information 
     resources to advocacy organizations that serve children and 
     adolescents with, or who are at risk for, mental health 
     disorders, and their families;
       ``(H) identifying and offering access to services and care 
     to children and adolescents and their families with diverse 
     linguistic and cultural backgrounds;

[[Page 10085]]

       ``(I) identifying and offering equal access to services in 
     all geographic regions of the State;
       ``(J) identifying and offering appropriate access to 
     services in geographical regions of the State with above-
     average occurrences of child and adolescent mental health 
     disorders;
       ``(K) identifying and offering appropriate access to 
     services in geographical regions of the State with above-
     average rates of children and adolescents with co-occurring 
     mental health and substance abuse disorders;
       ``(L) offering continuous and up-to-date information to, 
     and carrying out awareness campaigns that target children and 
     adolescents, parents, legal guardians, family members, 
     primary care professionals, mental health professionals, 
     child care professionals, health care providers, and the 
     general public and that highlight the risk factors associated 
     with mental health disorders and the life-saving help and 
     care available from early intervention and prevention 
     services;
       ``(M) ensuring that information and awareness campaigns on 
     mental health disorder risk factors, and early intervention 
     and prevention services, use effective and culturally-
     appropriate communication mechanisms that are targeted to and 
     reach adolescents, families, schools, educational 
     institutions, juvenile justice systems, substance abuse 
     programs, mental health programs, primary care programs, 
     foster care systems, and other child and adolescent support 
     organizations;
       ``(N) implementing a system to ensure that primary care 
     professionals, mental health professionals, and school and 
     child care professionals are properly trained in evidence-
     based best practices in child and adolescent mental health 
     early intervention and prevention, treatment and 
     rehabilitation services and that those professionals involved 
     with providing early intervention and prevention services are 
     properly trained in effectively identifying children and 
     adolescents with or who are at risk for mental health 
     disorders;
       ``(O) the provision of continuous training activities for 
     primary care professionals, mental health professionals, and 
     school and child care professionals on evidence-based or 
     promising best practices;
       ``(P) the provision of continuous training activities for 
     primary care professionals, mental health professionals, and 
     school and child care professionals on family and consumer 
     involvement and participation;
       ``(Q) conducting annual self-evaluations of all outcomes 
     and activities, including consulting with interested families 
     and advocacy organizations for children and adolescents.
       ``(3) A cost-assessment relating to the development and 
     implementation of the State plan and a description of how the 
     State will measure performance and outcomes across relevant 
     agencies and service systems.
       ``(4) A timeline for achieving the objectives described in 
     paragraph (2).
       ``(5) An outline for achieving the sustainability of the 
     objectives described in paragraph (2).
       ``(d) Application of Other Requirements.--The authorities 
     and duties of State mental health planning councils provided 
     for under sections 1914 and 1915 with respect to State mental 
     health block grant planning shall apply to the development 
     and the implementation of the comprehensive State mental 
     health plan.
       ``(e) Participation and Implementation.--
       ``(1) Participation.--In developing and implementing the 
     comprehensive State mental health plan under a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under this section, the State shall 
     ensure the participation of the State agency heads 
     responsible for child and adolescent mental health, substance 
     abuse, child welfare, medicaid, public health, developmental 
     disabilities, social services, juvenile justice, housing, and 
     education.
       ``(2) Consultation.--In developing and implementing the 
     comprehensive State mental health plan under a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under this section, the State shall 
     consult with--
       ``(A) the Federal interagency coordinating committee 
     established under section 401 of the Child and Adolescent 
     Mental Health Resiliency Act of 2006;
       ``(B) State and local agencies, including agencies 
     responsible for child and adolescent mental health care, 
     early intervention and prevention services under titles IV, 
     V, and XIX of the Social Security Act, and the State's 
     Children's Health Insurance Program under title XXI of the 
     Social Security Act;
       ``(C) State mental health planning councils (described in 
     section 1914);
       ``(D) local, State, and national advocacy organizations 
     that serve children and adolescents with or who are at risk 
     for mental health disorders and their families;
       ``(E) relevant national medical and other health 
     professional and education specialty organizations;
       ``(F) children and adolescents with mental health disorders 
     and children and adolescents who are currently receiving 
     early intervention or prevention services;
       ``(G) families and friends of children and adolescents with 
     mental health disorders and children and adolescents who are 
     currently receiving early intervention or prevention 
     services;
       ``(H) families and friends of children and adolescents who 
     have attempted or completed suicide;
       ``(I) qualified professionals who possess the specialized 
     knowledge, skills, experience, training, or relevant 
     attributes needed to serve children and adolescents with or 
     who are at risk for mental health disorders and their 
     families; and
       ``(J) third-party payers, managed care organizations, and 
     related employer and commercial industries.
       ``(3) Signature.--The Governor of the State shall sign the 
     comprehensive State mental health plan application and be 
     responsible for overseeing the development and implementation 
     of the plan.
       ``(f) Satisfaction of Other Federal Requirements.--A State 
     may utilize the comprehensive State mental health plan that 
     meets the requirements of this section to satisfy the 
     planning requirements of other Federal mental health programs 
     administered by the Secretary, including as the Community 
     Mental Health Services Block Grant and the Children's Mental 
     Health Services Program, so long as the requirements of such 
     programs are satisfied through the plan.
       ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
     of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.''.

     SEC. 102. GRANTS CONCERNING EARLY INTERVENTION AND 
                   PREVENTION.

       Title V of the Public Health Services Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa 
     et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

            ``PART K--MISCELLANEOUS MENTAL HEALTH PROVISIONS

     ``SEC. 597. GRANTS FOR MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT SERVICES.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall award 5-year 
     matching grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements 
     with, community health centers that receive assistance under 
     section 330 to enable such centers to provide child and 
     adolescent mental health early intervention and prevention 
     services to eligible children and adolescents, and to provide 
     referral services to, or early intervention and prevention 
     services in coordination with, community mental health 
     centers and other appropriately trained providers of care.
       ``(b) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under subsection (a) an entity shall--
       ``(1) be a community health center that receives assistance 
     under section 330;
       ``(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at 
     such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
     the Secretary may require;
       ``(3) provide assurances that the entity will have 
     appropriately qualified behavioral health professional staff 
     to ensure prompt treatment or triage for referral to a 
     speciality agency or provider; and
       ``(4) provide assurances that the entity will encourage 
     formal coordination with community mental health centers and 
     other appropriate providers to ensure continuity of care.
       ``(c) Identification.--In providing services with amounts 
     received under a grant or cooperative agreement under this 
     section, an entity shall ensure that appropriate screening 
     tools are used to identify at-risk children and adolescents 
     who are eligible to receive care from a community health 
     centers.
       ``(d) Matching Requirement.--With respect to the costs of 
     the activities to be carried out by an entity under a grant 
     or cooperative agreement under this section, an entity shall 
     provide assurances that the entity will make available 
     (directly or through donations from public or private 
     entities) non-Federal contributions towards such costs in an 
     amount that is not less than $1 for each $1 of Federal funds 
     provided under the grant or cooperative agreement.

     ``SEC. 597A. GRANTS FOR PRIMARY CARE AND MENTAL HEALTH EARLY 
                   INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION SERVICES.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall award 5-year 
     matching grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements 
     with, States, political subdivisions of States, consortium of 
     political subdivisions, tribal organizations, public 
     organizations, or private nonprofit organizations to enable 
     such entities to provide assistance to mental health programs 
     for early intervention and prevention services to children 
     and adolescents with, or who are at-risk of, mental health 
     disorders and that are in primary care settings.
       ``(b) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under subsection (a) an entity shall--
       ``(1) be a State, a political subdivision of a State, a 
     consortia of political subdivisions, a tribal organization, a 
     public organization, or private nonprofit organization; and
       ``(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at 
     such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
     the Secretary may require.
       ``(c) Use of Funds.--An entity shall use amounts received 
     under a grant or cooperative agreement under this section 
     to--
       ``(1) provide appropriate child and adolescent mental 
     health early intervention and prevention assessment services;

[[Page 10086]]

       ``(2) provide appropriate child and adolescent mental 
     health treatment services;
       ``(3) provide monitoring and referral for specialty 
     treatment of medical or surgical conditions for children and 
     adolescents ; and
       ``(4) facilitate networking between primary care 
     professionals, mental health professionals, and child care 
     professionals for--
       ``(A) case management development;
       ``(B) professional mentoring; and
       ``(C) enhancing the provision of mental health services in 
     schools.
       ``(d) Matching Requirements.--With respect to the costs of 
     the activities to be carried out by an entity under a grant 
     or cooperative agreement under this section, an entity shall 
     provide assurances that the entity will make available 
     (directly or through donations from public or private 
     entities) non-Federal contributions towards such costs in an 
     amount that is not less than $1 for each $1 of Federal funds 
     provided under the grant or cooperative agreement.

     ``SEC. 597B. GRANTS FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND PRIMARY CARE EARLY 
                   INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION SERVICES.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall award 5-year 
     matching grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements 
     with, States, political subdivisions of States, consortium of 
     political subdivisions, tribal organizations, public 
     organizations, or private nonprofit organizations to enable 
     such entities to provide assistance to primary care programs 
     for children and adolescents with, or who are at-risk of, 
     mental health disorders who are in mental health settings.
       ``(b) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under subsection (a) an entity shall--
       ``(1) be a State, a political subdivision of a State, a 
     consortia of political subdivisions, a tribal organization, 
     or a private nonprofit organization; and
       ``(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at 
     such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
     the Secretary may require.
       ``(c) Use of Funds.--An entity shall use amounts received 
     under a grant or cooperative agreement under this section 
     to--
       ``(1) provide appropriate primary health care services, 
     including screening, routine treatment, monitoring, and 
     referral for specialty treatment of medical or surgical 
     conditions;
       ``(2) provide appropriate monitoring of medical conditions 
     of children and adolescents receiving mental health services 
     from the applicant and refer them, as needed, for specialty 
     treatment of medical or surgical conditions; and
       ``(3) facilitate networking between primary care 
     professionals, mental health professionals and child care 
     professionals for--
       ``(A) case management development; and
       ``(B) professional mentoring.
       ``(d) Matching Funds.--With respect to the costs of the 
     activities to be carried out by an entity under a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under this section, an entity shall 
     provide assurances that the entity will make available 
     (directly or through donations from public or private 
     entities) non-Federal contributions towards such costs in an 
     amount that is not less than $1 for each $1 of Federal funds 
     provided under the grant or cooperative agreement.

     ``SEC. 597C. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     part $22,500,000 for fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may 
     be necessary for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.''.

     SEC. 103. ACTIVITIES CONCERNING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN 
                   SCHOOLS.

       (a) Efforts of Secretary to Improve the Mental Health of 
     Students.--The Secretary of Education, in collaboration with 
     the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall--
       (1) encourage elementary and secondary schools and 
     educational institutions to address mental health issues 
     facing children and adolescents by--
       (A) identifying children and adolescents with, or who are 
     at-risk for, mental health disorders;
       (B) providing or linking children and adolescents to 
     appropriate mental health services and supports; and
       (C) assisting families, including providing families with 
     resources on mental health services for children and 
     adolescents and a link to relevant local and national 
     advocacy and support organizations;
       (2) collaborate on expanding and fostering a mental health 
     promotion and early intervention strategy with respect to 
     children and adolescents that focuses on emotional well being 
     and resiliency and fosters academic achievement;
       (3) encourage elementary and secondary schools and 
     educational institutions to use positive behavioral support 
     procedures and functional behavioral assessments on a school-
     wide basis as an alternative to suspending or expelling 
     children and adolescents with or who are at risk for mental 
     health needs; and
       (4) provide technical assistance to elementary and 
     secondary schools and educational institutions to implement 
     the provisions of paragraphs (1) through (3).
       (b) Grants.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of Education, in 
     collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services, shall award grants to, or enter into cooperative 
     agreements with, States, political subdivisions of States, 
     consortium of political subdivisions, tribal organizations, 
     public organizations, private nonprofit organizations, 
     elementary and secondary schools, and other educational 
     institutions to provide directly or provide access to mental 
     health services and case management of services in elementary 
     and secondary schools and other educational settings.
       (2) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under paragraph (1) an entity shall--
       (A) be a State, a political subdivision of a State, a 
     consortia of political subdivisions, a tribal organization, a 
     public organization, a private nonprofit organization, an 
     elementary or secondary school, or an educational 
     institution; and
       (B) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at 
     such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
     the Secretary may require, including an assurance that the 
     entity will--
       (i) provide directly or provide access to early 
     intervention and prevention services in settings with an 
     above average rate of children and adolescents with mental 
     health disorders;
       (ii) provide directly or provide access to early 
     intervention and prevention services in settings with an 
     above average rate of children and adolescents with co-
     occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders; and
       (iii) demonstrate a broad collaboration of parents, primary 
     care professionals, school and mental health professionals, 
     child care processionals including those in educational 
     settings, legal guardians, and all relevant local agencies 
     and organizations in the application for, and administration 
     of, the grant or cooperative agreement.
       (3) Use of funds.--An entity shall use amounts received 
     under a grant or cooperative agreement under this subsection 
     to provide--
       (A) mental health identification services;
       (B) early intervention and prevention services to children 
     and adolescents with or who are at-risk of mental health 
     disorders; and
       (C) mental health-related training to primary care 
     professionals, school and mental health professionals, and 
     child care professionals, including those in educational 
     settings.
       (c) Counseling and Behavioral Support Guidelines.--The 
     Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Secretary 
     of Health and Human Services, shall develop and issue 
     guidelines to elementary and secondary schools and 
     educational institutions that encourage such schools and 
     institutions to provide counseling and positive behavioral 
     supports, including referrals for needed early intervention 
     and prevention services, treatment, and rehabilitation to 
     children and adolescents who are disruptive or who use drugs 
     and show signs or symptoms of mental health disorders. Such 
     schools and institutions shall be encouraged to provide such 
     services to children and adolescents in lieu of suspension, 
     expulsion, or transfer to a juvenile justice system without 
     any support referral services or system of care.
       (d) Study.--
       (1) In general.--The Government Accountability Office shall 
     conduct a study to assess the scientific validity of the 
     Federal definition of a child or adolescent with an 
     ``emotional disturbance'' as provided for in the regulations 
     of the Department of Education under the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), and 
     whether, as written, such definition now excludes children 
     and adolescents inappropriately through a determination that 
     those children and adolescents are ``socially maladjusted''.
       (2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Government Accountability Office 
     shall submit to the appropriated committees of Congress a 
     report concerning the results of the study conducted under 
     paragraph (1).
       (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
     construed--
       (1) to supercede the provisions of section 444 of the 
     General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g), including 
     the requirement of prior parental consent for the disclosure 
     of any education records; and
       (2) to modify or affect the parental notification 
     requirements for programs authorized under the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.).
       (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $22,500,000 for 
     fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
     of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.

     SEC. 104. ACTIVITIES CONCERNING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES UNDER 
                   THE EARLY AND PERIODIC SCREENING, DIAGNOSTIC, 
                   AND TREATMENT SERVICES PROGRAM.

       (a) Notification.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for 
     Medicare and Medicaid Services, shall notify State Medicaid 
     agencies of--
       (1) obligations under section 1905(r) of the Social 
     Security Act with respect to the identification of children 
     and adolescents with mental health disorders and of the 
     availability of validated mechanisms that aid pediatricians 
     and other primary care professionals to incorporate such 
     activities; and

[[Page 10087]]

       (2) information on financing mechanisms that such agencies 
     may use to reimburse primary care professionals, mental 
     health professionals, and child care professionals who 
     provide mental health services as authorized under such 
     definition of early and period screening, diagnostic, and 
     treatment services.
       (b) Requirements.--State Medicaid agencies who receive 
     funds for early and period screening, diagnostic, and 
     treatment services funding shall provide an annual report to 
     the Secretary of Health and Human Services that--
       (1) analyzes the rates of eligible children and adolescents 
     who receive mental health identification services of the type 
     described in subsection (a)(1) under the medicaid program in 
     the State;
       (2) analyzes the ways in which such agency has used 
     financing mechanisms to reimburse primary care professionals, 
     mental health professionals, and child care professionals who 
     provide such mental health services;
       (3) identifies State program rules and funding policies 
     that may impede such agency from meeting fully the Federal 
     requirements with respect to such services under the medicaid 
     program; and
       (4) makes recommendations on how to overcome the 
     impediments identified under paragraph (3).

     SEC. 105. ACTIVITIES CONCERNING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR 
                   AT-RISK MOTHERS AND THEIR CHILDREN.

       Title V of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 511. ENHANCING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR AT-RISK 
                   MOTHERS AND THEIR CHILDREN.

       ``(a) Grants.--The Secretary shall award grants to, or 
     enter into cooperative agreements with, States, political 
     subdivisions of States, consortium of political subdivisions, 
     tribal organizations, public organizations, and private 
     nonprofit organizations to provide appropriate mental health 
     promotion and mental health services to at-risk mothers, 
     grandmothers who are legal guardians, and their children.
       ``(b) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under subsection (a) an entity shall--
       ``(1) be a State, a political subdivision of a State, a 
     consortia of political subdivisions, a tribal organization, a 
     public organization, or a private nonprofit organization; and
       ``(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at 
     such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
     the Secretary may require.
       ``(c) Use of Funds.--Amounts received under a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under this section shall be used to--
       ``(1) provide mental health early intervention, prevention, 
     and case management services;
       ``(2) provide mental health treatment services; and
       ``(3) provide monitoring and referral for specialty 
     treatment of medical or surgical conditions.
       ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $20,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
     of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.''.

     SEC. 106. ACTIVITIES CONCERNING INTERAGENCY CASE MANAGEMENT.

       Part L of title V of the Public Health Service Act, as 
     added by section 102, is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 597C. INTERAGENCY CASE MANAGEMENT.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program 
     to foster the ability of local case managers to work across 
     the mental health, substance abuse, child welfare, education, 
     and juvenile justice systems in a State. As part of such 
     program, the Secretary shall develop a model system that--
       ``(1) establishes a training curriculum for primary care 
     professionals, mental health professionals, school and child 
     care professionals, and social workers who work as case 
     managers;
       ``(2) establishes uniform standards for working in multiple 
     service systems; and
       ``(3) establishes a cross-system case manager certification 
     process.
       ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
     of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.''.

     SEC. 107. GRANTS CONCERNING CONSUMER AND FAMILY 
                   PARTICIPATION.

       Part K of title V of the Public Health Service Act, as 
     added by section 102 and amended by section 106, is further 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 597D. CONSUMER AND FAMILY CONTROL IN CHILD AND 
                   ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE DECISIONS.

       ``(a) Grants.--The Secretary shall award grants to, or 
     enter into cooperative agreements with, States, political 
     subdivisions of States, consortium of political subdivisions, 
     and tribal organizations for the development of policies and 
     mechanisms that enable consumers and families to have 
     increased control and choice over child and adolescent mental 
     health services received through a publicly-funded mental 
     health system.
       ``(b) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under subsection (a) an entity shall--
       ``(1) be a State, a political subdivision of a State, a 
     consortia of political subdivisions, or a tribal 
     organization; and
       ``(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at 
     such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
     the Secretary may require.
       ``(c) Use of Funds.--An entity shall use amounts received 
     under a grant or cooperative agreement under this section to 
     carry out the activities described in subsection (a). Such 
     activities may include--
       ``(1) the facilitation of mental health service planning 
     meetings by consumer and family advocates, particularly peer 
     advocates;
       ``(2) the development of consumer and family cooperatives; 
     and
       ``(3) the facilitation of national networking between State 
     political subdivisions and tribal organizations engaged in 
     promoting increased consumer and family participation in 
     decisions regarding mental health services for children and 
     adolescents.
       ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $10,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
     of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.''.

     SEC. 108. GRANTS CONCERNING INFORMATION ON CHILD AND 
                   ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.

       Part K of title V of the Public Health Service Act, as 
     added by section 102 and amended by section 107, is further 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 597E. INCREASED INFORMATION ON CHILD AND ADOLESCENT 
                   MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.

       ``(a) Grants.--The Secretary shall award grants to, or 
     enter into cooperative agreements with, private nonprofit 
     organizations to enable such organizations to provide 
     information on child and adolescent mental health and 
     services, consumer or parent-to-parent support services, 
     respite care, and other relevant support services to--
       ``(1) parents and legal guardians of children or 
     adolescents with or who are at risk for mental health 
     disorders; and
       ``(2) families of adolescents with or who are at risk for 
     mental health disorders.
       ``(b) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under subsection (a) an entity shall--
       ``(1) be a private, nonprofit organization; and
       ``(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at 
     such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
     the Secretary may require.
       ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $10,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
     of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.''.

     SEC. 109. ACTIVITIES CONCERNING PUBLIC EDUCATION OF CHILD AND 
                   ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS AND 
                   SERVICES.

       Part K of title V of the Public Health Service Act, as 
     added by section 102 and amended by section 108, is further 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 597F. ACTIVITIES CONCERNING PUBLIC EDUCATION OF CHILD 
                   AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS AND 
                   SERVICES.

       ``(a) Educational Campaign.--The Secretary shall develop, 
     coordinate, and implement an educational campaign to increase 
     public understanding of mental health promotion, child and 
     adolescent emotional well-being and resiliency, and risk 
     factors associated with mental health disorders in children 
     and adolescents.
       ``(b) Grants.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants to, or 
     enter into cooperative agreements with, public and private 
     nonprofit organizations with qualified experience in public 
     education to build community coalitions and increase public 
     awareness of mental health promotion, child and adolescent 
     emotional well-being and resiliency, and risk factors 
     associated with mental health disorders in children and 
     adolescents.
       ``(2) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under paragraph (1), an entity shall--
       ``(A) be a public or private nonprofit organization; and
       ``(B) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at 
     such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
     the Secretary may require.
       ``(3) Use of funds.--Amounts received under a grant or 
     contract under this subsection shall be used to--
       ``(A) develop community coalitions to support the purposes 
     of paragraph (1); and
       ``(B) develop and implement public education activities 
     that compliment the activities described in subsection (a) 
     and support the purposes of paragraph (1).
       ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $10,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
     of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.''.

     SEC. 110. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER CONCERNING TRAINING AND 
                   SECLUSION AND RESTRAINTS.

       Part K of title V of the Public Health Service Act, as 
     added by section 102 and amended by section 109, is further 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

[[Page 10088]]



     ``SEC. 597G. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER CONCERNING SECLUSION 
                   AND RESTRAINTS.

       ``(a) Seclusion and Restraints.--Acting through the 
     technical assistance center established under subsection (b), 
     the Secretary shall--
       ``(1) develop and disseminate educational materials that 
     encourage ending the use of seclusion and restraints in all 
     facilities or programs in which a child or adolescent resides 
     or receives care or services;
       ``(2) gather, analyze, and disseminate information on best 
     or promising best practices that can minimize conflicts 
     between parents, legal guardians, primary care professionals, 
     mental health professionals, school and child care 
     professionals to create a safe environment for children and 
     adolescents with mental health disorders; and
       ``(3) provide training for primary professionals, mental 
     health professionals, and school and child care professionals 
     on effective techniques or practices that serve as 
     alternatives to coercive control interventions, including 
     techniques to reduce challenging, aggressive, and resistant 
     behaviors, that require seclusion and restraints.
       ``(b) Consultation.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall consult with--
       ``(1) local and national advocacy organizations that serve 
     children and adolescents who may require the use of seclusion 
     and restraints, and their families;
       ``(2) relevant national medical and other health and 
     education specialty organizations; and
       ``(3) qualified professionals who possess the specialized 
     knowledge, skills, experience, and relevant attributes needed 
     to serve children and adolescents who may require the use of 
     seclusion and restraints, and their families.
       ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $5,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
     of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.''.

     SEC. 111. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTERS CONCERNING CONSUMER 
                   AND FAMILY PARTICIPATION.

       Part K of title V of the Public Health Service Act, as 
     added by section 102 and amended by section 110, is further 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 597H. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTERS CONCERNING CONSUMER 
                   AND FAMILY PARTICIPATION.

       ``(a) Grants.--The Secretary shall award 5-year grants to, 
     or enter into cooperative agreements with, private nonprofit 
     organizations for the development and implementation of three 
     technical assistance centers to support full consumer and 
     family participation in decision-making about mental health 
     services for children and adolescents.
       ``(b) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under subsection (a) an entity shall--
       ``(1) be a private, nonprofit organization that 
     demonstrates the ability to establish and maintain a 
     technical assistance center described in this section; and
       ``(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at 
     such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
     the Secretary may require.
       ``(c) Use of Funds.--An entity shall use amounts received 
     under a grant or cooperative agreement under this section to 
     establish a technical assistance center of the type referred 
     to in subsection (a). Through such center, the entity shall--
       ``(1) collect and disseminate information on mental health 
     disorders and risk factors for mental health disorders in 
     children and adolescents;
       ``(2) collect and disseminate information on available 
     resources for specific mental health disorders, including co-
     occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders;
       ``(3) disseminate information to help consumers and 
     families engage in illness self management activities and 
     access services and resources on mental health disorder self-
     management;
       ``(4) support the activities of self-help organizations;
       ``(5) support the training of peer specialists, family 
     specialists, primary care professionals, mental health 
     professionals, and child care professionals;
       ``(6) provide assistance to consumer and family-delivered 
     service programs and resources in meeting their operational 
     and programmatic needs; and
       ``(7) provide assistance to consumers and families that 
     participate in mental health system advisory bodies, 
     including state mental health planning councils.
       ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $5,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
     of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.''.

     SEC. 112. COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR 
                   CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH SERIOUS EMOTIONAL 
                   DISTURBANCES.

       Section 561 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     290ff) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by inserting before the 
     semicolon the following: ``and provides assurances that the 
     State will use grant funds in accordance with the 
     comprehensive State mental health plan submitted under 
     section 520B''; and
       (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4) Review of possible impediments.--A State may use 
     amounts received under a grant under this section to conduct 
     an interagency review of State mental health program rules 
     and funding policies that may impede the development of the 
     comprehensive State mental health plan submitted under 
     section 520B.''.

     SEC. 113. COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES PERFORMANCE 
                   PARTNERSHIP BLOCK GRANT.

       Section 1912(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     300x-2(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(6) Performance measures.--The plan requires that 
     performance measures be reported for adults and children 
     separately.
       ``(7) Other mental health services.--In addition to 
     reporting on mental health services funded under a community 
     mental health services performance partnership block grant, 
     States are encouraged to report on all mental health services 
     provided by the State mental health agency.''.

     SEC. 114. COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES BLOCK GRANT 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Section 1912(b) of the Public Health 
     Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x-2(b)) is amended by adding at the 
     end the following:
       ``(8) Co-occurring treatment services.--The plan provides 
     for a system of support for the provision of co-occurring 
     treatment services, including early intervention and 
     prevention, and integrated mental health and substance abuse 
     and services, for adolescents with co-occurring mental health 
     and substance abuse disorders. Services shall be provided 
     through the system under this paragraph in accordance with 
     the Substance Abuse Prevention Treatment Block Grant program 
     under subpart II.''.
       (b) Guidelines for Integrated Treatment Services.--Section 
     1915 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x-4) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(c) Guidelines for Integrated Treatment Services.--The 
     Secretary shall issue written policy guidelines for use by 
     States that describe how amounts received under a grant under 
     this subpart may be used to fund integrated treatment 
     services for children and adolescents with mental health 
     disorders and with co-occurring mental health and substance 
     abuse disorders.
       ``(d) Model Service Systems Forum.--The Secretary, in 
     consultation with the Attorney General, shall periodically 
     convene forums to develop model service systems and promote 
     awareness of the needs of children and adolescents with co-
     occurring mental health disorders and to facilitate the 
     development of policies to meet those needs.''.
       (c) Substance Abuse Grants.--Section 1928 of the Public 
     Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x-28) is amended by adding 
     at the end the following:
       ``(e) Co-Occurring Treatment Services.--A State may use 
     amounts received under a grant under this subpart to provide 
     a system of support for the provision of co-occurring 
     treatment services, including early intervention and 
     prevention, and integrated mental health and substance abuse 
     services, for children and adolescents with co-occurring 
     mental health and substance abuse disorders. Services shall 
     be provided through the system under this paragraph in 
     accordance with the Community Mental Health Services Block 
     Grant program under subpart I.
       ``(f) Guidelines for Integrated Treatment Services.--The 
     Secretary shall issue written policy guidelines, for use by 
     States, that describe how amounts received under a grant 
     under this section may be used to fund integrated treatment 
     for children and adolescents with co-occurring substance 
     abuse and mental health disorders.''.

     SEC. 115. GRANTS FOR JAIL DIVERSION PROGRAMS.

       Section 520G of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     290bb-38)--
       (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``up to 125'';
       (2) in subsection (d)--
       (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and inserting 
     a semicolon; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) provide appropriate community-based mental health and 
     co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse services to 
     children and adolescents determined to be at risk of contact 
     with the law; and
       ``(6) provide for the inclusion of emergency mental health 
     centers as part of jail diversion programs.''; and
       (3) in subsection (h), by adding at the end the following: 
     ``As part of such evaluations, the grantee shall evaluate the 
     effectiveness of activities carried out under the grant and 
     submit reports on such evaluations to the Secretary.''.

     SEC. 116. ACTIVITIES CONCERNING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR 
                   JUVENILE JUSTICE POPULATIONS.

       (a) Grants.--The Secretary shall award grants to, or enter 
     into cooperative agreements with, States, tribal 
     organizations, political subdivisions of States, consortia of 
     political subdivisions, public organizations, and private 
     nonprofit organizations to provide mental health promotions 
     and mental

[[Page 10089]]

     health services to children and adolescents in juvenile 
     justice systems.
       (b) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under subsection (a), an entity shall--
       (1) be a State, a tribal organization, a political 
     subdivision of a State, a consortia of political 
     subdivisions, a public organization, or a private nonprofit 
     organization; and
       (2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at 
     such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
     the Secretary may require.
       (c) Use of Funds.--Amounts received under a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under this section shall be used to--
       (1) provide mental health early intervention, prevention, 
     and case management services;
       (2) provide mental health treatment services; and
       (3) provide monitoring and referral for specialty treatment 
     of medical or surgical conditions.
       (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $10,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
     of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.

   TITLE II--FEDERAL INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION AND RELATED ACTIVITIES

     SEC. 201. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE CONCERNING THE 
                   MENTAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
     (in this section referred to as the ``Secretary''), in 
     collaboration with the Federal officials described in 
     subsection (b), shall establish an interagency coordinating 
     committee (referred to in this section as the ``Committee'') 
     to carry out the activities described in this section 
     relating to the mental health of children and adolescents.
       (b) Federal Officials.--The Federal officials described in 
     this subsection are the following:
       (1) The Secretary of Education.
       (2) The Attorney General.
       (3) The Surgeon General.
       (4) The Secretary of the Department of Defense.
       (5) The Secretary of the Interior.
       (6) The Commissioner of Social Security.
       (7) Such other Federal officials as the Secretary 
     determines to be appropriate.
       (c) Chairperson.--The Secretary shall serve as the 
     chairperson of the Committee.
       (d) Duties.--The Committee shall be responsible for policy 
     development across the Federal Government with respect to 
     child and adolescent mental health.
       (e) Collaboration and Consultation.--In carrying out the 
     activities described in this Act, and the amendments made by 
     this Act, the Secretary shall collaborate with the Committee 
     (and the Committee shall collaborate with relevant Federal 
     agencies and mental health working groups responsible for 
     child and adolescent mental health).
       (f) Consultation.--In carrying out the activities described 
     in this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, the 
     Secretary and the Committee shall consult with--
       (1) State and local agencies, including agencies 
     responsible for child and adolescent mental health care, 
     early intervention and prevention services under titles V and 
     XIX of the Social Security Act, and the State Children's 
     Health Insurance Program under title XXI of the Social 
     Security Act;
       (2) State mental health planning councils (as described in 
     section 1914);
       (3) local and national organizations that serve children 
     and adolescents with or who are at risk for mental health 
     disorders and their families;
       (4) relevant national medical and other health professional 
     and education specialty organizations;
       (5) children and adolescents with mental health disorders 
     and children and adolescents who are currently receiving 
     early intervention or prevention services;
       (6) families and friends of children and adolescents with 
     mental health disorders and children and adolescents who are 
     currently receiving early intervention or prevention 
     services;
       (7) families and friends of children and adolescents who 
     have attempted or completed suicide;
       (8) qualified professionals who possess the specialized 
     knowledge, skills, experience, training, or relevant 
     attributes needed to serve children and adolescents with or 
     who are at risk for mental health disorders and their 
     families; and
       (9) third-party payers, managed care organizations, and 
     related employer and commercial industries.
       (g) Policy Development.--In carrying out the activities 
     described in this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, 
     the Secretary shall--
       (1) coordinate and collaborate on policy development at the 
     Federal level with the Committee, relevant Department of 
     Health and Human Services, Department of Education, and 
     Department of Justice agencies, and child and adolescent 
     mental health working groups; and
       (2) consult on policy development at the Federal level with 
     the private sector, including consumer, medical, mental 
     health advocacy groups, and other health and education 
     professional-based organizations, with respect to child and 
     adolescent mental health early intervention and prevention 
     services.
       (h) Reports.--
       (1) Initial report.--Not later than 2 years after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Committee shall submit to the 
     appropriate committees of Congress a report that includes--
       (A) the results of an evaluation to be conducted by the 
     Committee to analyze the effectiveness and efficacy of 
     current activities concerning the mental health of children 
     and adolescents;
       (B) the results of an evaluation to be conducted by the 
     Committee to analyze the effectiveness and efficacy of the 
     activities carried out under grants, cooperative agreements, 
     collaborations, and consultations under this Act, the 
     amendments made by this Act, and carried out by existing 
     Federal agencies
       (C) the results of an evaluation to be conducted by the 
     Committee to analyze identified problems and challenges, 
     including--
       (i) fragmented mental health service delivery systems for 
     children and adolescents;
       (ii) disparities between Federal agencies in mental health 
     service eligibility requirements for children and 
     adolescents;
       (iii) disparities in regulatory policies of Federal 
     agencies concerning child and adolescent mental health;
       (iv) inflexibility of Federal finance systems to support 
     evidence-based child and adolescent mental health;
       (v) insufficient training of primary care professionals, 
     mental health professionals, and child care professionals;
       (vi) disparities and fragmentation of collection and 
     dissemination of information concerning child and adolescent 
     mental health services;
       (vii) inability of State Medicaid agencies to meet Federal 
     requirements concerning child and adolescent mental health 
     under the early and period screening, diagnostics and 
     treatment services requirements under the medicaid program 
     under title XIX of the Social Security Act; and
       (viii) fractured Federal interagency collaboration and 
     consultation concerning child and adolescent mental health;
       (D) the recommendations of the Secretary on models and 
     methods with which to overcome the problems and challenges 
     described in subparagraph (B) for the purposes of improving 
     Federal interagency coordination and the development of 
     Federal mental health policy.
       (2) Annual report.--Not later than 1 year after the date on 
     which the initial report is submitted under paragraph (1), an 
     annually thereafter, the Committee shall submit to the 
     appropriate committees of Congress a report concerning the 
     results of updated evaluations and recommendations described 
     in paragraph (1).
       (i) Personnel Matters.--
       (1) Staff and compensation.--Except as provided in 
     paragraph (2), the Secretary may employ, and fix the 
     compensation of an executive director and other personnel of 
     the Committee without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 
     and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States 
     Code, relating to classification of positions and General 
     Schedule pay rates.
       (2) Maximum rate of pay.--The maximum rate of pay for the 
     executive director and other personnel employed under 
     paragraph (1) shall not exceed the rate payable for level IV 
     of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, 
     United States Code.
       (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $10,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
     of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.

TITLE III--RESEARCH ACTIVITIES CONCERNING THE MENTAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN 
                            AND ADOLESCENTS

     SEC. 301. ACTIVITIES CONCERNING EVIDENCE-BASED OR PROMISING 
                   BEST PRACTICES.

       Part K of title V of the Public Health Service Act, as 
     added by section 102 and amended by section 111, is further 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 597I. ACTIVITIES CONCERNING EVIDENCE-BASED OR 
                   PROMISING BEST PRACTICES.

       ``(a) Grants.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants to, and 
     enter into cooperative agreements with, States, political 
     subdivisions of States, consortia of political subdivisions, 
     tribal organizations, institutions of higher education, or 
     private nonprofit organizations for the development of child 
     and adolescent mental health services and support systems 
     that address widespread and critical gaps in a needed 
     continuum of mental health service-delivery with a specific 
     focus on encouraging the implementation of evidence-based or 
     promising best practices.
       ``(2) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under paragraph (1) an entity shall--
       ``(A) be a State, a political subdivision of a State, a 
     consortia of political subdivisions, a tribal organization, 
     an institution of higher education, or a private nonprofit 
     organization; and
       ``(B) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at 
     such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
     the Secretary may require.

[[Page 10090]]

       ``(3) Use of funds.--Amounts received under a grant or 
     cooperative agreement under this subsection shall be used to 
     provide for the development and dissemination of mental 
     health supports and services described in paragraph (1), 
     including--
       ``(A) early intervention and prevention services, treatment 
     and rehabilitation particularly for children and adolescents 
     with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse 
     disorders;
       ``(B) referral services;
       ``(C) integrated treatment services, including family 
     therapy, particularly for children and adolescents with co-
     occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders;
       ``(D) colocating primary care and mental health services in 
     rural and urban areas;
       ``(E) mentoring and other support services;
       ``(F) transition services;
       ``(G) respite care for parents, legal guardians, and 
     families; and
       ``(H) home-based care.
       ``(b) Technical Assistance Center.--The Secretary shall 
     establish a technical assistance center to assist entities 
     that receive a grant or cooperative agreement under 
     subsection (a) in--
       ``(1) identifying widespread and critical gaps in a needed 
     continuum of child and adolescent mental health service-
     delivery;
       ``(2) identifying and evaluating existing evidence-based or 
     promising best practices with respect to child and adolescent 
     mental health services and supports;
       ``(3) improving the child and adolescent mental health 
     service-delivery system by implementing evidence-based or 
     promising best practices;
       ``(4) training primary care professionals, mental health 
     professionals, and child care professionals on evidence-based 
     or promising best practices;
       ``(5) informing children and adolescents, parents, legal 
     guardians, families, advocacy organizations, and other 
     interested consumer organizations on such evidence-based or 
     promising best practices; and
       ``(6) identifying financing structures to support the 
     implementation of evidence-based or promising best practices 
     and providing assistance on how to build appropriate 
     financing structures to support those services.
       ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $12,500,000 for 
     fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
     of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.''.

     SEC. 302. FEDERAL RESEARCH CONCERNING ADOLESCENT MENTAL 
                   HEALTH.

       Part K of title V of the Public Health Service Act, as 
     added by section 201 and amended by section 301, is further 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 597J. FEDERAL RESEARCH CONCERNING ADOLESCENT MENTAL 
                   HEALTH.

       ``(a) Best Practices.--The Secretary shall provide for the 
     conduct of research leading to the identification and 
     evaluation of evidence-based or promising best practices, 
     including--
       ``(1) early intervention and prevention mental health 
     services and systems, particularly for children and 
     adolescents with co-occurring mental health and substance 
     abuse disorders;
       ``(2) mental health referral services;
       ``(3) integrated mental health treatment services, 
     particularly for children and adolescents with co-occurring 
     mental health and substance abuse disorders;
       ``(4) mentoring and other support services;
       ``(5) transition services; and
       ``(6) respite care for parents, legal guardians, and 
     families of children and adolescents.
       ``(b) Identification of Existing Disparities.--The 
     Secretary shall provide for the conduct of research leading 
     to the identification of factors contributing to the existing 
     disparities in children and adolescents mental health care in 
     areas including--
       ``(1) evidence-based early intervention and prevention, 
     diagnosis, referral, treatment, and monitoring services;
       ``(2) psychiatric and psychological epidemiology in racial 
     and ethnic minority populations;
       ``(3) therapeutic interventions in racial and ethnic 
     minority populations;
       ``(4) psychopharmacology;
       ``(5) mental health promotion and child and adolescent 
     emotional well-being and resiliency;
       ``(6) lack of adequate service delivery systems in urban 
     and rural regions; and
       ``(7) lack of adequate reimbursement rates for evidence-
     based early intervention and prevention, diagnosis, referral, 
     treatment, and monitoring services.
       ``(c) Psychotropic Medications.--The Secretary shall 
     provide for the conduct of research leading to the 
     identification of the long-term effects of psychotropic 
     medications and SSRIs and other pyschotropic medications for 
     children and adolescents.
       ``(d) Trauma.--The Secretary shall provide for the conduct 
     of research leading to the identification of the long-term 
     effects of trauma on the mental health of children and 
     adolescents, including the effects of--
       ``(1) violent crime, particularly sexual abuse;
       ``(2) physical or medical trauma;
       ``(3) post-traumatic stress disorders; and
       ``(4) terrorism and natural disasters.
       ``(e) Acute Care.--The Secretary shall provide for the 
     conduct of research leading to the identification of factors 
     contributing to problems in acute care. Such research shall 
     address--
       ``(1) synthesizing the acute care knowledge data base;
       ``(2) assessing existing capacities and shortages in acute 
     care;
       ``(3) reviewing existing model programs that exist to 
     ensure appropriate and effective acute care;
       ``(4) developing new models when appropriate; and
       ``(5) proposing workable solutions to enhance the delivery 
     of acute care and crisis intervention services.
       ``(f) Recovery and Rehabilitation.--The Secretary shall 
     provide for the conduct of research leading to the 
     identification of methods and models to enhance the recovery 
     and rehabilitation of children and adolescents with mental 
     health disorders.
       ``(g) Co-Occurring Disorders.--The Secretary shall provide 
     for the conduct of research leading to the identification of 
     methods and models to enhance services and supports for 
     children and adolescents with co-occurring mental health and 
     substance abuse and disorders.
       ``(h) Research Collaboration.--The Secretary shall provide 
     for the conduct of research that reviews existing scientific 
     literature on the relationship between mental and physical 
     health, particularly identifying new methods and models to 
     enhance the balance between mental and physical health in 
     children and adolescents.
       ``(i) Collaboration.--In carrying out the activities under 
     this section, the Secretary shall collaborate with the 
     Federal interagency coordinating committee established under 
     section 401 of the Child and Youth Equitable Health Act of 
     2005, and relevant Federal agencies and mental health working 
     groups responsible for child and adolescent mental health.
       ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $12,500,000 for 
     fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
     of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.''.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself and Mr. Talent):
  S. 3454. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve 
the exchange of healthcare information through the use of technology, 
to encourage the creation, use and maintenance of lifetime electronic 
health records that may contain health plan and debit card 
functionality in independent health record banks, to use such records 
to build a nationwide health information technology infrastructure, and 
to promote participation in health information exchange by consumers 
through tax incentives and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Finance.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation 
that would address one of the most critical issues facing Americans 
today, that of rising health care costs. America's collective health 
care bill represents an increasing percentage of the GDP and, at the 
same time, mortality rates remain stubbornly high. It is apparent that 
the time has come for innovative health care solutions that will save 
money and save lives.
  Today, I am introducing the Independent Health Record Bank Act of 
2006, a market-driven approach that will save both money and lives by 
creating a self-sustaining National Health Information Network for 
doctors and patients. Rather than continuing to get by with a patchwork 
system of paper records that contributes to medical errors and high 
cost, this legislation creates a nationwide system of secure electronic 
health records. Under the Independent Health Record Bank Act, ownership 
of the record is truly independent and consumer-focused, as this type 
of bank provides the objective service of sustaining individual 
electronic health records, much like the way financial institutions 
maintain assets. This consumer-driven approach will offer Americans 
portable and electronic health records over their lifetime at little to 
no cost, with specific, established measures for privacy and security.
  We saw in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when medical records 
and lab results were literally washed away, that the current system of 
paper records can prove to be cumbersome at best, and fatal at worst. 
Americans should have the ability to access their health records as 
easily as they access their bank accounts--through the use of a 
national IT network administered

[[Page 10091]]

by cooperative, not-for-profit institutions. I urge my colleagues to 
support this effort through cosponsorship of this important 
legislation.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. SANTORUM:
  S. 3455. A bill to establish a program to transfer surplus computers 
of Federal agencies to schools, nonprofit community-based educational 
organizations, and families of members of the Armed Forces who are 
deployed, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs.
  Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill which 
is intended to ensure that more surplus government computers are put to 
good use in our schools and by families of deployed service members.
  Each year, it is becoming more and more evident that, especially for 
our youth, computer knowledge is essential for success. While many 
Americans have computers at home, there are still many Americans who do 
not have that easy access to computer technology. In addition, not all 
of our schools have or can afford up-to-date computer technology to aid 
their students in their learning. This bill is intended to bridge this 
gap.
  It has been estimated that each week, the Federal Government disposes 
of 10,000 computers. Thanks in part to Executive Order 12999, which was 
issued in 1996, some of these computers are placed in schools that 
would otherwise not have access to this technology. The Executive order 
directs that federal agencies shall safeguard and identify potentially 
educationally useful federal equipment that is no longer needed or 
declared surplus. This equipment shall then be transferred directly or 
through the Government Services Administration Computers for Learning 
program to public and private schools and nonprofit organizations, 
including community-based educational organizations. Schools and 
nonprofits in enterprise communities or empowerment zones are 
prioritized in receiving these computers.
  I have been pleased to be able to work through the related program in 
the Senate to place excess computers in several Pennsylvania schools 
where they are being put to good use. Unfortunately, I have heard from 
those working in Pennsylvania to obtain such computers that not enough 
of them are getting through to schools. They are experiencing increased 
difficulty in maintaining the number and quality of computers they were 
previously able to get from the government for refurbishment and 
donation. In some cases, hard drives are being needlessly destroyed 
before they are turned over.
  One of the problems that has prevented schools from getting and using 
these computers is that many times they are not able to be immediately 
put into use by the school. Schools may not have the technical ability 
or storage space to take computers directly from the government if they 
need maintenance before they can be placed into service. It has been 
estimated that if schools get the computers directly from the 
government, only 10 percent can be put into use. However, if they are 
first refurbished, 40 percent can be used.
  The hope is that this legislation would result in federal agencies 
making more surplus computers available for schools by codifying the 
previous Executive order. The bill would also allow computers to go 
directly to nonprofits for refurbishing before going to the school, 
making is easier for more schools to participate in the program. 
Currently, a school has to take title to the computer and then can 
transfer it to a nonprofit refurbisher to be fixed up, an additional 
step for them. This bill would allow nonprofit organizations like 
Computers for Schools that can refurbish computers at low-cost to 
participate in the process, getting computers ready to use and sending 
them out to schools where they last three more years, enabling more 
children to learn and profit by them. To prevent the needless 
destruction of hard drives, the bill also references federal standards 
on how to completely and securely erase hard drives without destroying 
them.
  Lastly, this bill includes language that would make it possible to 
distribute these computers to the families of deployed service men and 
women who do not have a computer in their homes so that they can stay 
in better touch with their family members while they are fighting for 
our country.
  I believe this legislation is an important step to help ensure that 
surplus federal computers are put to good use by allowing more of our 
youth to have access to computers in school. I am hopeful that this 
legislation will be enacted into law.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. MENENDEZ:
  S. 3456. A bill to ensure the implementation of the recommendations 
of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States; 
to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, first, I congratulate my colleagues in 
the House, Representatives Shays and Maloney, for their hard work on 
this legislation and for introducing H.R. 5017, the companion 
legislation to the bill I am introducing today.
  Almost 5 years ago, our country was attacked by terrorists on 
September 11, 2001. This attack on our cities, on our symbols, on our 
democracy, and on our way of life killed nearly 3,000 Americans and 
over 700 people from my home State of New Jersey. But this attack could 
not kill our determination to preserve our freedom, our values, and our 
democratic system.
  Almost 2 years ago, the 9/11 Commission published their riveting 
account of what happened on that terrible day and made 41 unanimous and 
bipartisan recommendations to make our country safer from future 
terrorist attacks.
  Six months ago, the 9/11 Public Discourse Project published a 
disturbing report card giving more F's than A's on the implementation 
of those 41 recommendations.
  Today, I am introducing legislation to finally and fully implement 
the 41 bipartisan and unanimous recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. 
The former Chairman of the 9/11 Commission, Thomas Kean, and the former 
Vice Chairman, Lee Hamilton, endorsed this same legislation in the 
House, H.R. 5017 Shays-Maloney. In a letter, Mr. Kean and Mr. Hamilton 
said that the legislation ``represents a comprehensive approach to 
carry out each of the recommendations of the Commission . . . [and] 
focuses on urgent unfinished business before the Nation
. . .''
  It is the responsibility of the Congress to carry out this urgent 
unfinished business. We certainly need this comprehensive legislation 
at a time when the disastrous Dubai Ports World deal made it clear that 
our ports are not safe and those who live and work near them are not 
secure; the Department of Homeland Security is increasing homeland 
security funding for small cities while cutting it to New York and 
Washington, DC; first responders still don't have the ability to 
communicate with each other during a disaster; nuclear weapons in the 
hands of a terrorist remain one of the greatest threats to our Nation, 
yet the 9/11 Public Discourse Project gave the administration a D on 
progress towards fixing this problem; and hundreds of Afghans have been 
killed in the recent violent resurgence of the Taliban.
  Since immediately after September 11, many of us in Congress have 
been working to learn the hard lessons from those attacks so we can 
prepare for and prevent future terrorist acts. Shortly after the 
attacks, I introduced comprehensive homeland security legislation and 
served on the first ad-hoc Homeland Security Committee in the House.
  I was a strong supporter of the creation of the 9/11 Commission and 
introduced a proposal on the House floor to fully implement the 9/11 
Commission recommendation in 2004 during the initial debate on the 
recommendations. I then served as a House negotiator on and helped 
secure passage of the final landmark intelligence reform bill that was 
the first step in implementing the 9/11 Commission recommendations. 
Introducing this legislation today is the next important step in 
protecting our country against terrorism. I certainly

[[Page 10092]]

agree with the former heads of the 9/11 Commission that passing this 
bill should be a top priority for this Congress.
  I think all of us were shocked last week when the Department of 
Homeland Security actually slashed overall homeland security grant 
funding for New York, Washington, DC, and New Jersey, while increasing 
funding for much smaller areas with fewer terrorist targets.
  DHS slashed these funds in spite of the 9/11 Commission 
recommendation which said that ``Homeland Security assistance should be 
based strictly--strictly--on an assessment of risks and 
vulnerabilities.''
  And that is exactly what I fought for when I introduced the Menendez 
substitute to the intelligence reform bill in 2004. That is exactly 
what I fought for in the conference report on that legislation and what 
I sought to accomplish in the House when I introduced the Risk-Based 
Homeland Security Funding Act with Senators Corzine and Lautenberg. And 
that is exactly what the legislation I am introducing today would do.
  As many of you know, New Jersey faces unique terrorism threats that 
require a greater portion of homeland security aid due to its proximity 
to New York City and to its vast number of potential targets of terror, 
such as the largest container seaport on the east coast, one of the 
busiest airports in the country, an area known as the ``chemical 
coastway,'' our four nuclear power plants, and the six tunnels and 
bridges that connect New Jersey to New York City.
  And if that were not enough, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has 
placed more than a dozen New Jersey sites on the National Critical 
Infrastructure List and has called the area in my former congressional 
district between Port Elizabeth and Newark International Airport the 
``most dangerous two miles in the United States when it comes to 
terrorism.'' An article in The New York Times pointed out that this 2-
mile area provides ``a convenient way to cripple the economy by 
disrupting major portions of the country's rail lines, oil storage 
tanks and refineries, pipelines, air traffic, communications networks 
and highway system.''
  The bottom line is that States and municipalities, like New Jersey, 
which are under the greatest risk should receive homeland security 
dollars based solely on that risk. The funding awarded to Newark and 
Jersey City clearly proves that New Jersey is well served when Federal 
homeland security dollars are awarded based on risk. Yet I cannot 
understand why the Department of Homeland Security would not use a 
risk-based formula when awarding all of their grants. So long as 
Homeland Security grants are awarded based on factors other than risk, 
those States most at risk will continue to lack the necessary resources 
to protect the people they serve.
  I know that many Americans would also be shocked to learn that almost 
5 years after 9/11 and almost 1 year after Hurricane Katrina, many 
first responders still cannot communicate with each other during a 
disaster.
  In fact, when I speak to firefighters in my home State of New Jersey, 
they consistently tell me that this remains a serious impediment to 
their work. In our port in New Jersey, the largest container port in 
the east coast, firefighters, Coast Guard, police, and other law 
enforcement officials often still cannot communicate with each other. 
When Hurricane Katrina hit, emergency personnel were on at least five 
different channels and were hampered in communicating with one another. 
As the Washington Post reported on September 2, 2005, ``Police officers 
and National Guard members, along with law officers imported from 
around the State, rarely knew more than what they could see with their 
own eyes.''
  It is astonishing that our firefighters, police, and paramedics still 
do not have the ability to communicate in an emergency. How is it 
possible that almost 5 years after September 11, our local first 
responders still do not have interoperable communications systems that 
can talk with each other as they carry out their lifesaving work?
  That is why my legislation would provide adequate radio spectrum for 
first responders and a status report on creating a unified incident 
command system during disasters.
  In its final report card, the 9/11 Public Discourse Project gave the 
administration a D for its efforts to secure WMDs. The former 
Commissioners then recommended that the U.S. Government make this issue 
the top national security priority to counter what it called ``the 
greatest threat to America's security.''
  I certainly believe that a nuclear weapon in the hands of a terrorist 
is one of the greatest threats to our national security. Osama Bin 
Laden himself has said that it is al-Qaida's ``religious duty'' to 
acquire weapons of mass destruction.
  According to CNN, in January 2002, documents found in a house in 
Kabul, Afghanistan, reportedly used by al-Qaida operatives included a 
25-page document filled with information about nuclear weapons. That 
document included a design for a nuclear weapon that would require 
hard-to-obtain materials like plutonium to create a nuclear explosion.
  One document appeared to be plans to create a nuclear device. 
Although experts contended that the design in this document labeled 
``superbombs'' is unworkable, the author, noted CNN, was clearly 
knowledgeable of various ways to set off a nuclear bomb.
  In combination with the discovery of AQ Khan's clandestine nuclear 
supermarket, the potential of al-Qaida building a nuclear weapon is not 
a fairytale. In fact, according to CNN, al-Qaida may have had some help 
in its efforts to develop a nuclear device from two Pakistani nuclear 
scientists.
  This bill works to ensure that the fairytale does not become a 
cataclysmic reality.
  The bill specifically implements the 9/11 Commission's recommendation 
to expand programs to stop shipments of weapons of mass destruction. 
With this legislation, the United States would also be able to extend 
our assistance to help countries control, protect, and dismantle their 
nuclear programs to countries outside of the former Soviet Union. It 
would also create an Office of Nonproliferation Programs in the 
Executive Office of the President to prevent terrorist access to WMDs. 
Finally, the bill includes a provision to enhance the Global Threat 
Reduction Initiative and would require the President to establish a 
Department of Energy task force on nuclear materials removal.
  I believe we all want to make sure that a nuclearized al-Qaida never 
becomes a reality. And we should spare absolutely no effort in pursuing 
this goal.
  Many of us have been horrified as we have watched the resurgence of 
the Taliban and strong anti-American sentiment in Afghanistan. Over 
just the past few weeks, over 250 people have been killed in the 
upsurge in violence, and we see techniques borrowed from Iraq, like the 
use of improvised explosive devices, in Afghanistan. According to the 
New York Times, Pentagon officials say that 32 suicide bombs were 
exploded in 2006, which is already 6 more than exploded in all of 2005. 
Roadside bombs are up 30 percent over last year, and the Taliban are 
fighting in groups triple the size of last year. And after a deadly 
traffic accident involving the U.S. military, an anti-American riot 
exploded in Kabul last week.
  The 9/11 Commission made it clear in their recommendations that 
Afghanistan must be a priority stating that the ``United States and the 
international community should make a long-term commitment to a secure 
and stable Afghanistan to improve life and make sure it is not a 
terrorist sanctuary.'' Unfortunately, we are clearly a long way from 
achieving that goal.
  The administration never finished the job in Afghanistan, the 
birthplace of the Taliban, the home to al-Qaida, the land of Osama bin 
Laden, and the place where the attacks of 9/11 were planned.
  That is why this legislation is an important step to help us move in 
the right direction in Afghanistan. My bill urges a new commitment to a 
long-term economic plan to ensure Afghanistan's stability as well as a 
report on

[[Page 10093]]

progress towards achieving the goals in the Afghanistan Freedom Support 
Act.
  This bipartisan, bicameral legislation is the next step to finally 
implementing all of the 41 recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. 
Their report was a call to action. Their report card was a reminder of 
what still needed to be done. Their work cannot be left unfinished.
  We must all heed advice of the 9/11 Commission and learn from the 
hard lessons of 9/11. We cannot wait any longer to take action, and I 
urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mrs. BOXER:
  S.J. Res. 39. A joint resolution to spur a political solution in Iraq 
and encourage the people of Iraq to provide for their own security 
through the redeployment of the United States military forces; to the 
Committee on Foreign Relations.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a resolution to 
spur a political solution in Iraq and encourage the people of Iraq to 
provide for their own security through the redeployment of U.S. 
military forces.
  I introduce this resolution with the hope and prayer that we will 
redeploy U.S. troops from Iraq and end this ill-fated war that has 
resulted in more than 20,000 U.S. troops killed or wounded.
  This resolution speaks for itself. I ask unanimous consent that it be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the joint resolution was 
ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:

                              S.J. Res. 39

       Whereas the United States military forces have served 
     bravely in Iraq and deserve the heartfelt support of the 
     United States;
       Whereas more than 2,450 members of the United States 
     military forces have been killed and more than 18,000 wounded 
     in support of military operations in Iraq;
       Whereas more than 200 coalition personnel have been killed 
     in support of military operations in Iraq;
       Whereas it is estimated that at least 40,000 people of Iraq 
     have been killed during the military intervention in Iraq;
       Whereas much of the intelligence used by the Bush 
     Administration to justify the use of force in Iraq was either 
     exaggerated or simply wrong;
       Whereas President George W. Bush stated that the mission in 
     Iraq was to rid that country of weapons of mass destruction;
       Whereas weapons of mass destruction have not been found in 
     Iraq;
       Whereas President George W. Bush then stated that the 
     mission in Iraq was to end the regime of Saddam Hussein and 
     free the people of Iraq;
       Whereas Saddam Hussein is in custody and standing trial for 
     crimes against humanity;
       Whereas President George W. Bush then stated that the 
     mission in Iraq was to establish a free, self governing, and 
     democratic Iraq;
       Whereas the people of Iraq elected their first permanent 
     democratically elected government on December 15, 2005, and 
     the cabinet of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been 
     approved by the Parliament of Iraq, concluding the transition 
     of Iraq to full political sovereignty;
       Whereas President George W. Bush then stated that the 
     mission in Iraq was to train the security forces of Iraq so 
     that they can do the fighting in Iraq;
       Whereas the Pentagon reports that more than 240,000 
     military and police personnel of Iraq are now trained and 
     equipped;
       Whereas on May 1, 2003, President George W. Bush stood 
     under a banner proclaiming ``Mission Accomplished'' and 
     declared that Iraq was an ally of al Qaeda;
       Whereas the report of the 9/11 Commission found no 
     collaborative operational relationship between Iraq and al 
     Qaeda;
       Whereas the commander of the Multinational Forces Iraq, 
     General George Casey, testified before the Senate Committee 
     on Armed Services on September 29, 2005, that ``[i]ncreased 
     coalition presence feeds the notion of occupation . . . 
     contributes to the dependency of Iraqi security forces on the 
     coalition . . . [and] extends the amount of time that it will 
     take for Iraqi security forces to become self reliant''; and
       Whereas, according to a January 2006 poll, 64 percent of 
     Iraqis believe that crime and violent attacks will decrease 
     when the United States redeploys from Iraq, 67 percent of 
     Iraqis believe that their day-to-day security will increase 
     if the United States redeploys from Iraq, and 73 percent of 
     Iraqis believe that there will be greater cooperation among 
     the political factions of Iraq when the United States 
     redeploys from Iraq: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled, That--
       (1) United States military forces in Iraq are to be 
     redeployed from Iraq by December 31, 2006, or earlier if 
     practicable;
       (2) nothing in this resolution prohibits the use of United 
     States military forces from training Iraqi security forces in 
     the region outside of Iraq; and
       (3) nothing in this resolution prohibits the use of United 
     States military forces based outside of Iraq to--
       (A) conduct targeted and specialized counter-terrorism 
     missions in Iraq; and
       (B) protect military and civilian personnel of the United 
     States in Iraq.

                          ____________________