Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act Reauthorization
Floor Speech
Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, my colleague, Dr. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, and I, introduced a bipartisan bill, H.R. 2734, the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Reauthorization Act, on July 19 of this year. This legislation would reauthorize the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act to help State and local governments and universities to continue to provide and develop suicide prevention programs. This current bill is budget neutral and would revise and extend provisions of the original act signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2004. It is named for former-Senator Gordon Smith, Republican of Oregon's 22-year-old son Garrett whose life was ended in September of 2003.
Every year, over 38,000 Americans die by suicide, and many more are treated for self-inflicted injuries that result from suicide attempts. As you may know, suicide still remains the second leading cause of death for our adolescents and young adults between the ages of 10 and 24, and results in 4,800 lives lost each year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Also, the same agency reported that youths in grades 9 through 12, in public and private schools in the United States, found that 15 percent of students reported seriously considering suicide, 11 percent reported creating a plan, and 7 percent reported trying to take their own life. The 2010 American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment II noted that 45.6 percent of the students surveyed reported feeling that things were hopeless and 30 percent reported feeling depressed.
The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act Reauthorization grant program has assisted 35 tribes, 45 States, and 85 institutions of higher education to develop suicide prevention and intervention programs, which are often the first line of defense for those with this troubling disease of mental illness concerns, who are distraught and aren't certain about what to do.
Again, H.R. 2734 is budget neutral, and I come to the floor to ask all of my colleagues to cosponsor the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act. We can disagree on some things, but I don't think we need to disagree on this.
Please, sign up as a cosponsor.
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