Mental Health Month

Floor Speech

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Ms. MATSUI. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 1258. This resolution expresses support for the designation of this month, the month of May, as Mental Health Month.

We all know it, but sometimes we forget that mental health is absolutely essential to the overall health of every single person in this country. Mental health is an important contributor to the health of our communities, our families and even to our economy.

Mental illness affects 57 million people in the United States, Madam Speaker. The people impacted by mental illness are workers, their bosses, their employees, their mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers and close friends.

And increasingly, they are children. One in every five children and adolescents may have a diagnosable mental disorder.

Mental illnesses are clinically indicated, and they range from bipolar disorder to bulimia and other eating disorders to anxiety-related conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder. These illnesses affect all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups. They can strike at any place and at any time.

However, certain groups in our country appear to be more vulnerable to mental illness than others. For example, Latina adolescents have a higher suicide rate than any other demographic. And one-quarter of the members of our Armed Forces suffer from psychological or neurological injuries sustained during combat. This is a problem that we cannot and we must not ignore.

Madam Speaker, we know that mental illness is becoming more and more common in the United States and around the world. We know that mental illnesses have biological causes, and we know that the vast majority of mental illnesses can be treated. And yet people with mental illness continue to live under a stigma that surrounds those who fight diseases of the mind.

Today's resolution gives this House a valuable opportunity to help our constituents understand the biological basis for many mental disorders. It salutes the important work of national and community organizations who promote public awareness of mental illness and who help fight the unfair stigma associated with mental disease.

House Resolution 1258 also encourages health providers and organizations to promote mental well-being and to ensure that people with mental illness have access to the services that can literally save their lives.

This and previous Congresses have taken important and necessary steps to improve access to mental health services. Personally, I look forward to working with my colleagues to increase access to community-based mental health services.

In my hometown of Sacramento, the community-based mental health system is crumbling under the weight of severe budget cuts and ever-increasing demand for services.

We here in Washington cannot sit idly by as vital community services are slashed. Those whose very lives depend on a trained and understanding mental health provider are counting on us, and this resolution honors those who have dedicated their lives to treating others with mental illness.

I want to commend Representative Napolitano, the sponsor of this resolution and co-chair of the Congressional Mental Health Caucus, for her leadership on this important health issue.

I would also like to commend my Energy and Commerce Committee colleague, Representative Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, for working so closely with Mrs. Napolitano on the Mental Health Caucus.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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