Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act

GARRETT LEE SMITH MEMORIAL ACT

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere condolences to Senator Smith and his family, as yesterday marked the 1-year anniversary of Garrett's passing and today would have been his 23rd birthday. The Smith family has endured a terrible tragedy, but has taken their loss and their pain and committed themselves to raising public awareness about youth suicide and the need for appropriate mental health services.

Senator Smith has also worked tirelessly these past few months to move the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act. During a time of partisanship and divisiveness, a majority of members in the House and Senate have been able to set aside those differences to help expeditiously move this important legislation.

I have had the honor and pleasure of working with my colleague from Oregon on this very personal tribute since the beginning. As my colleagues may recall, this legislation is comprised of two separate legislative initiatives that were introduced earlier this year, the Youth Suicide Early Intervention and Prevention Expansion Act, sponsored by Senators DODD and DEWINE and the Campus Care and Counseling Act, which I introduced along with Senator DeWine.

The legislation takes a comprehensive approach to the increasing problem of suicide among our youth as well as providing additional resources to our Nation's colleges and universities as they struggle to offer the kinds of support students need to grow and achieve academically as well as personally. Information, outreach and access to mental and behavioral health services is becoming an increasingly important part of that equation.

The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act contains many important provisions that I hope will help to stem the growing numbers of youth suicides in this country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide and self-inflicted injuries remain a pressing public health concern. We hope this legislation will help to change this by enabling States, local communities and institutions of higher education to implement effective youth suicide prevention and intervention strategies.

Two months ago, a unanimous Senate passed the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act. Since that time, the bill has undergone what I would consider to be considerable changes to address concerns raised by Energy and Commerce Chairman Barton and others.

I have always been willing to entertain and accommodate issues that have been raised that have related to the substance of this bill. I am deeply concerned, however, by the insistence of some in the other body to inject partisan ideology in this bill.

Just prior to the August recess, a few members of the other body scuttled movement on the bill when they insisted on adding language that would create a new parental consent standard, layered onto one that has been in law, under the General Education Provisions Act, GEPA, which was recently updated as part of the No Child Left Behind Act.

While the majority has made it clear they will not abide changes in other parts of the No Child Left Behind Act, even common sense fixes that school administrators, principals, teachers, and parents have been called for, they insisted on language-which could prevent the very young people we are trying to help from accessing the mental health services they need.

We worked in good faith over the past month to come up with a compromise, and while the language has improved from the version initially proposed, it still raises some fundamental concerns.

I am appreciative of the efforts of Senator Smith to add a clarification that the language has no impact on the No Child Left Behind Act. Unfortunately, the language does not include a similar assurance on the standards for parental notice and consent included under sections 444 and 445 of the General Education Provisions Act.

As a result, we have created a different standard for assessments, programs, and services in elementary and secondary schools relating to youth suicide, as compared to other health and mental health assessments, programs, and services that occur in our schools. Not only does this language set a new precedent, we are adding a confusing and burdensome layer of requirements on school personnel at a time when they are struggling to meet the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act and trying to do the best they can to help our young people.

However, in recognizing how important the overall bill is to our Nation's young people and college students, and the commitment of the Senator from Oregon to address this language in the future. I support passage of the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act. I praise my colleagues in both Chambers for their continued diligence on this bill and appreciate the willingness of the majority and minority leaders to set aside time so that this important piece of legislation can finally move to the President's desk.