Tim Murphy

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, at noon today, back in my district in Pennsylvania, there is a funeral service for Scott Bashioum, a brave policeman who died last week. His partner, James Saieva, was critically injured. Ultimately, the shooter died of suicide. Had we had a functional mental health system, lives could have been saved. Families could have been spared the mourning. The shooter's background is all too familiar: prior criminal convictions, mental health issues, and not taking medications. How many more lives will be lost before we act? This broken Federal and State approach to treating mental illness will not fix itself. It must be overhauled with the leadership of a new office of Assistant Secretary of Mental Health and Substance Use; changes to HIPAA laws that currently block families from helping, and fixing the crisis shortage of providers and hospitals. Waiting will not work. Token or superficial changes won't work. Continuing to fund the current mess won't work. If anyone thinks it does, then I suggest you get on the phone and explain this to the officer's widow and children that everything is just fine. Or the Senate can act and pass the changes we passed in H.R. 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, which the House passed with near unanimous vote in July. Lives are at stake. Time is running short; and for Officer Bashioum's family, time has run out.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, this week, we lost the greatest golfer ever, the man who brought the sport to the masses, a name synonymous with competition, the king, the legend: Mr. Arnold Palmer. Arnie was a favorite son and native of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, a city where roads, an airport, a drink, a hospital, and so much more are named after him. Latrobe is also the home of Mr. Rogers, the banana split, and summer home to the Pittsburgh Steelers; but Arnold clearly is their favorite. And with good reason. Some athletes play to make a name for themselves, but Arnie did it to build up the sport. And build it up he did. He made the sport of golf a game for the common man. It is no wonder he was followed by Arnie's Army through the world. Some athletes won't give autographs unless you pay them, or they will walk by, unmoved when a child asks for one; but Arnie never refused. He signed his name millions of times, never refusing anyone in his entire lifetime. I saw him just last month, surrounded by his usual stack of letters, pictures, and paraphernalia piled next to his desk, waiting to be signed by him. He signed every single one with that perfect and unmistakable signature and not with a generic scribble so you have no idea whose name it was. Arnie made sure he made his name legible. Later in life, he stopped signing golf balls not because he did not want to, but, rather, he thought it was important that whoever he was signing for could read his name clearly. Some athletes are famous for their family problems, but Arnie was a quiet, dedicated, and loving family man. He loved Winnie and Kit, and their children and grandchildren. And while some sport players refuse to stand during our national anthem, as a proud veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, Arnie would tear up at the sound of the Star-Spangled Banner with admiration, pride, and love for his Nation. He worked hard to get where he was. It was not handed to him. Once in the spotlight, some celebrities forget their roots, but Arnie never did. He was proud of his humble beginnings. He helped his father, Deacon Palmer, who worked as a greenskeeper for Latrobe Country Club, by mowing lawns and driving tractors. Arnie was never afraid of getting his hands dirty. In fact, he continued this work all the way up, even selling paint just before he turned pro. Some feel no sense of loyalty to their team or sport, enamored by their own fame and the big paycheck, but Arnie was fiercely loyal. A contract was a handshake. Your word was a contract based on that handshake, not a piece of paper. His lifetime relationship with his manager was set with that handshake, and Arnie never wavered from it. Playing golf with Arnie is an unforgettable experience not just as a pro, but for those of us lucky enough to play a round. He made you feel like it was the best part of his day. He never failed to give you his gentle smile or words of encouragement. Even when he teased you in a good-natured way, you cherished every word he said. He made the game fun to play no matter how well or how bad you were playing. A few years ago, Jim Leland, the legendary manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers, was playing with Arnie during an all-star break. On what Leland describes as ``the greatest day of my life,'' the two played at Laurel Valley. After shooting a respectable 41 on the front nine, Jim's game began to fade away on the back nine. Perhaps he hooked or sliced a few, and perhaps he let out a few colorful words in exasperation. But Arnie sensed Jim's game was unraveling and walked over to offer him the best golf advice ever. I imagine if any of us have had the opportunity to get a golf lesson from the king, we would feel in that moment that the wind would stop, the clouds would part, perhaps a shaft of light would stream down from the sun, the trees might even lean in a little to listen. But in that moment, Arnie put his arm around Jim and said: ``Enjoy the day. You're not good enough to get mad.'' That is the best golf advice ever. Not just great golf advice, it is great advice for life. Enjoy the days God gives you. Don't waste them on being angry. And maybe that is one of the reasons we will miss this man. He had a way of telling tens of millions to believe in yourself, to respect others, to face challenges, to demonstrate courage and respect, and to always show dignity in defeat and restraint in victory. Arnie claimed he did so well not just because he wanted to win, but because he hated to lose. And so it is today with us. We hate to lose you, Arnie. You made us feel we could all be better and that loving the game was the best of all. We will miss you.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, The Journal of Pediatrics recently reported many preteen children are at risk for suicide. Previously, it was believed that young children were incapable of suicide because they can't feel as hopeless or didn't have an understanding about death. Yet, in the United States, children as young as 5 years old die by suicide. According to the study, most of these suicide victims had a mental health problem. For younger children, suicide was associated with attention deficit disorder, and for older kids, depression. Both are treatable but must be diagnosed and treated right. But today, for every 2,000 children with a mental health disorder, only one child psychiatrist is available. Over 70 percent of psychotropic medications are prescribed by nonpsychiatrists, and 90 percent of psychiatric medications for children are prescribed off label. The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act addresses this grave reality head-on by increasing the number of child psychiatrists in our Nation. As lawmakers, it is our duty to protect our Nation's future generations. As the Senate continues to sit on H.R. 2646, I hope they keep in mind our children and our grandchildren. Please do not leave town before passage of H.R. 2646. We can save lives, but, to do so, we must pass this law. Our children need help and hope.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from which I am going to read some excerpts. This includes a letter that we are sending to Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Reid in the Senate. Let me read a few excerpts from this. We are asking the Senate to pass the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act before the district work period break. Delays in enacting this into law will contribute to more crime, violence, homelessness, and the daily deaths of 959 Americans as a result of mental illness. We know that there is a critical shortage of qualified providers. There are only 9,000 child and adolescent psychiatrists for 17 million children, and we need 30,000. African Americans are half as likely to receive psychiatric care, and for Hispanics with a mental disorder, fewer than 1 in 11 sees a mental health specialist. Fifty-five percent of counties in America do not have a practicing psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker. The average time between the onset of the first symptoms of psychosis and the first treatment is 80 weeks. There is a nationwide shortage of 100,000 psychiatric beds, which means people are often diverted to jails, are boarded in emergency rooms, or are released without treatment. There is no oversight, monitoring, or enforcement of the 10- year-old parity law, and persons with eating disorders still cannot get coverage for their treatment. The Federal Government spends about $130 billion annually by 112 agencies across eight separate departments, but the GAO exposed that these have nearly no coordination and do not require evidence-based practices. In terms of violence, those with untreated psychosis are 15 times more likely to be violent or not in treatment. With regard to jail, over 50 percent of those in jail have a mental illness. Mentally ill inmates cost taxpayers three times more than those without a mental illness, and individuals with a mental illness are four to six times more likely to be victims of sexual violence. With regard to homelessness, over one-third of homeless Americans have a serious mental illness, and people with serious mental illness are three times more likely to be in poverty. Having a serious mental illness is worse for someone's health than is chronic heavy smoking, and those with serious mental illness tend to die 10 to 25 years prematurely, meaning over 350,000 Americans will die this year as a direct or indirect result of mental illness. So far this year, over 255,000 have died. H.R. 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, is the most transformational crisis mental health reform bill in 50 years. It passed the House with near unanimous support on July 16, 2016, with a vote of 422-2. It reforms the Federal Government approach to mental health by establishing the critically important leadership position of Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders, who must be a doctor and who will bring accountability, effectiveness, and coordination to the Federal Government's programs and will develop a national strategy to increase the mental health workforce. It increases the number of psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychiatric nurses to treat serious mental illness. It provides funding for tele-mental health to increase access in underserved areas. It provides additional psychiatric beds. It requires the oversight and enforcement of parity laws and extends coverage to people with eating disorders. The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act has been endorsed by more than 40 professional organizations, by 77 newspapers, and has 207 bipartisan cosponsors. We write with the vital request that the Senate take up and pass the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act in order to fix our Nation's mental health system. It must take priority over any partisan divide. We, respectfully, ask that the Senate advance this bill to provide treatment before tragedy and to provide desperately needed and fully deserved help. Along these lines, Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to also contact my office to cosign this letter that pleads with the Senate to please move this bill quickly so that we don't have to see more tragedy, so that we can provide treatment, so that we can relieve Americans of this terrible scourge of mental illness without treatment, and so that we may provide quick and lifesaving action because, where there is no help, there is no hope. Congress of the United States, Washington, DC, September 22, 2016. Hon. Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Hon. Harry Reid, Minority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Dear Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Reid: We are in the midst of a mental health crisis in America. One in five Americans will experience mental illness this year. There are 10 million adults with a serious mental illness (SMI), but nearly 40% do not receive treatment. The reasons for this are a critical shortage of qualified providers, a dearth of crisis psychiatric beds, failed mental health parity implementation, and most importantly the absence of strong federal leadership. We are asking the Senate to pass the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act before their district work period break. Delays in enacting this into law will contribute to more crime, violence, homelessness, and the daily deaths of 959 Americans as a result of a mental illness. The level of this crisis was learned during the 4 year long House investigation, the major findings of which are listed below. Critical Shortage of Qualified Providers There are 9,000 Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists for 17 million children with a mental health condition, but there is a need for 30,000; African Americans are half as likely to receive psychiatric treatment; For Hispanics with a mental disorder, fewer than 1 in 11 see a mental health specialist; 55% of counties do not have a practicing psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker; 72% of states have a shortage of psychiatric nurses; Over the last decade the total number of physicians has increased by 45% but the number of psychiatrists has only increased 12%; The average time between onset of first symptoms of psychosis and first treatment is 80 weeks. Dearth of Psychiatric Crisis Beds There is a nation-wide shortage of 100,000 crisis psychiatric beds; In 1955 there were 550,000 psychiatric beds, but today there are only 40,000; Only one state (Mississippi) has enough beds to meet the minimum standard; When patients are in crisis they are often diverted to jails, boarded in Emergency Rooms, or released without treatment. Parity It has been nearly a decade since parity became law, yet there is no oversight, monitoring or enforcement; Americans with eating disorders still cannot get coverage of their treatment. Failed Federal Leadership In the area of mental health, the federal government spends $130 billion annually by 112 agencies across 8 separate departments; In a stunning and groundbreaking report the GAO exposed that federal mental health programs have nearly no coordination, few evaluations, and four out of five do not require evidence-based practices; 55% of Medicaid funding goes to 5% of the Medicaid population and nearly all of those patients have a mental health condition. Violence While individuals with a mental health condition are NOT more violent than the general public, those with untreated psychosis are 15 times more likely to be violent when not in treatment; 80 percent of violent acts committed by those with untreated psychosis are attributable directly to their illness. Criminal Justice Of those Americans in local jails 64% have mental illness, 56% in state prison, and 45% in federal prison; Mentally ill inmates cost taxpayers three times more than those without a mental illness; Incarcerating someone with a mental illness is 20 times more expensive than community treatment; Over 70% of people in jails with serious mental illness also have a substance use disorder; Individuals with a mental illness are 4 to 6 times more likely to be the victim of sexual violence. Homelessness and Poverty Over one-third of Americans experiencing homelessness have a serious mental illness. People with serious mental illness are three times more likely to be in poverty. Preventable Deaths Having a serious mental illness is worse for someone's health than chronic heavy smoking; Those with a serious mental illness die 10-25 years prematurely; There are 43,000 suicides, and 90% of those suicides have mental illness as a contributing factor; 350,000 Americans die each year as a direct or indirect result of a mental illness.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, our Nation is witness to a silent mass killing every day this year. This year, more than 250,000 Americans have lost their lives so far, but the public never knew it. It has never been on the front page of The New York Times or The Washington Post, and it is not discussed on CNN or FOX. Tomorrow, this mass killing will continue. And every day we allow it, over 900 more will die. With 100 days left this year, nearly 100,000 American lives are on the line unless we take immediate action. As we sit and watch this tragedy from our comfortable offices, I wonder if my colleagues have statements prepared for the thousands of parents and siblings and friends who lost or will lose a loved one in this mass killing back home. I wonder how we will look families in the eye when we leave Washington and say, there wasn't enough time, we wanted to go home, and yet those who died will never go home. Mr. Speaker, there is time if we act today. I ask the Senate to stop the tragedy and please call up and pass H.R. 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, because where there is help, there is hope.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I have tried, through words, to demonstrate the severity of our country's mental health crisis. Today I will try it again with numbers: 67,130, the number of Americans who have died from mental health issues since we passed the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act; 0.006 percent, the percentage of Americans who will suffer from addiction and are able to get help. That is six out of every 1,000; 1,625, the number of Americans who have died by suicide since September 1, the first day of Suicide Prevention Month. A final question as we close the week. If the Senate adjourns without passing H.R. 2646 to be signed into law, what clumsy, beltway babble will be used to comfort the thousands of families who will be told, ``We just didn't have time''? No words, no excuses work to bring someone back from the dead. Where there is no help, there is no hope.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 505, I was unavoidably detained and missed the vote on the previous question. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, over the weekend, The Denver Post Editorial Board published a piece supporting the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, H.R. 2646. Their endorsement joins 72 other papers, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and the National Review. I thank my colleagues from Colorado, Representative Mike Coffman and Scott Tipton, who were both cosponsors of H.R. 2646. Their State, unfortunately, is all too familiar with the realities of mental illness and the tragedies that come along when there is no treatment for those who suffer from it. In Colorado, every 8 hours, one person dies by suicide. Their suicide rate is one of the highest in the country. Sadly, Colorado has also witnessed more mentally troubled mass killers than most, including James Holmes, who, in 2012, took 12 innocent lives at a movie theater in Aurora; and Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who murdered 12 of their fellow students, one teacher, and went on to take their own lives at Columbine High School in 1999. Mental health and the tragedies that occur before treatment are not restricted to one State, however. The Denver Post recognizes this when they report that ``more than 11 million adults suffer from a mental illness, and almost half of them do not seek treatment or cannot find it.'' Mr. Speaker, since the facts make it clear that major mental health reform is needed for our entire Nation, reform must be a priority for all elected Members of Congress on both sides of the Capitol, for we represent the entire Nation. The House heard the American people when we passed H.R. 2646 in July with overwhelming, near unanimous bipartisan support. If the Senate won't listen to the House, or me, maybe they should listen to The Denver Post Editorial Board. They write: ``One of the best attempts to improve America's mental health crisis in decades will stall if the U.S. Senate does not get its act together before it goes on another month-long break. Freshly back from vacation, senators should pass . . . Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act . . . the bill sailed through the House with overwhelming bipartisan support . . . its prospects in the Senate are murky . . . Congress is tantalizingly close to accomplishing something that will address the nation's deplorable treatment of the mentally ill. It should not fall victim to the hyperpartisan gun debate.'' Mr. Speaker, if the Senate won't listen to The Denver Post, The Wall Street Journal, or The Washington Post, will they listen to the voice of the American people? We have the daily addition of 118 lives lost to suicide. Since September 1, it has been 1,400. Since the House passed the bill, over 8,000 people have died of suicide. There is also the daily addition of 959 families who join thousands mourning individuals with mental illness who have lost their life in one form or another. Since we passed the bill, the total lives lost is 65,212. More lives will be lost if we do not fix this broken mental health system that is so desperately in need of repair. It is time that the Senate listen to the voices of the millions who are crying out for help. And for today's new total of 959 more lives, tomorrow is too late. Millions of Americans are pleading with the Senate: do not go home at the end of this month without passing a bill that the House can also pass and get signed into law. The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act is just that law. We need the Senate to vote this week, not another day. Where there is help, there is hope.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, during a time when our Nation seems so divided, polarized, and unable to come together on any issue, there is one thing on which most of America agrees, by policy, politics, and polling. In April, a national mental health survey found that 86 percent of Americans support the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act. When it comes to mental health, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents agreed that H.R. 2646 is the answer. In July, the House followed America's call and came to pass the bill 422-2 to provide more hospital beds, more psychiatrists, psychologists, and reform our broken system. Now, the American people wait for the Senate to join us in passing this badly needed legislation. Millions of Americans are saying: please do not leave Washington without passing the bill so that the House can concur and we can get it signed into law. Every day they don't, 959 new families mourn the loss of a loved one who suffered from mental illness. And every day, 118 families mourn a new death by suicide. Every day the Senate waits, we delay reform. Pass H.R. 2646. Where there is help, there is hope.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, how much time is left?

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her Special Order tonight. The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis bill is something the House passed 422-2, and I sure hope the Senate takes it up. I keep hearing they may think they don't have time. But I don't know how we tell a family that has lost someone to suicide--whether it be a civilian or a soldier--that the Senate didn't have time and they went home. Since September 1, the first day of National Suicide Prevention Month, so far this month, 1,416 Americans have died by suicide, including 240 veterans. That is 118 people a day, 22 veterans a day. That also means that every 12 minutes, a person dies by suicide; one veteran every hour. That also means that every hour, a new family is grieving, or every 13 minutes, a new family is grieving on something we hope we could have prevented. And certainly H.R. 2646 will have many things in there to prevent many deaths. I want to read a story about one veteran to convey the struggle he had. This is Sergeant Daniel Somers who bravely served under Operation Iraqi Freedom. When he returned home, he had PTSD pretty significantly and depression and traumatic brain injury. He was 30 years old. His parents gave me permission to share his letter where he said: ``I am sorry that it has come to this. ``The fact is, for as long as I can remember, my motivation for getting up every day has been so that you would not have to bury me. As things have continued to get worse, it has become clear that this alone is not a sufficient reason to carry on. The fact is, I am not getting better, I am not going to get better, and I will most certainly deteriorate further as time goes on. From a logical standpoint, it is better to simply end things quickly and let any repercussions from that play out in the short term than to drag things out into the long term. . . . My body has become nothing but a cage, a source of pain and constant problems. . . . It is nothing short of torture. My mind is a wasteland, filled with visions of incredible horror, unceasing depression, and crippling anxiety.'' Daniel couldn't get help, so he lost hope. It doesn't have to be that way. Whether you are a citizen or a family member or a soldier listening tonight, Mr. Speaker, I want them to know there is hope that depression is something we can treat, that anxiety is something we can treat, that people can and do get better. Now, I, myself, have never seen the horrors of war through the scope of a combat rifle. I have had the opportunity to treat heroes at Walter Reed at the PTSD/TBI unit. They are a source of inspiration to me, particularly when I see them get better, when they come to grips with the horrors they have faced and somehow their heart turns to understand it is not their fault. They are not to blame. Life is sometimes torturous, but there are tremendous positives that can come out of this when they come to grips with that, whether it is a sense of faith in God that has brought them to that level or just finally realizing that they have a choice between being a victim forever and always lying under the giant boulder of remorse and depression or becoming a survivor and moving forward and being strong despite what happened to them. Or a third choice is to become a thriver, saying, I will take my adversity and turn it into a source of strength instead of turning away from it and letting it be a source of depression. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues have spoken eloquently tonight about what we can do. It doesn't have to be that bad. So where there is a family member dealing with someone's depression and worry and anxiety or whatever the issue is, I would like to convey to them there are places they can get help. Our job as Congressmen--and our levels of State government, too--is to make sure those sources are well funded, to make sure we have more psychiatrists, more psychologists, more psychiatric social workers, more hospital beds, and more veterans affairs departments that can treat them. Perhaps the best message we can give people tonight is: where there is help, there is hope. I hope the Senate passes this bill before this week is out.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, the death toll due to mental illness continues to climb. Yesterday we lost another 118 lives to suicide, and this brings the total lives lost since passage of H.R. 2646 to 7,670. We lost another 959 lives to mental illness, bringing the total of lives lost to 62,355 since House passage of my bill in July. If nothing is done today, then tomorrow we will lose more. By Monday, another 2,800. I hope my colleagues in the Senate are moved to action by this continued loss of lives, which is preventable. But if it's popularity, approval ratings, or upcoming elections that our friends are worried about, my friends should know that most Americans believe the country is losing ground in dealing with mental health. In fact, 83 percent of the country thinks so, according to a national mental health survey. Mr. Speaker, how high does the death toll need to climb before the Senate decides to act? We only have a few legislative days left in September. We can either spend that time reading more obituaries or news clips of tragedies or passage of H.R. 2646. It is absolutely clear that America wants us to act now. The question is: Will the Senate finally act and bring treatment before tragedy?

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, since September 1, the first day of National Suicide Prevention Month, 944 Americans have died by suicide, including 160 veterans. Since the passage of H.R. 2646, the mental health reform act, in the House of Representatives in July, 7,552 Americans have died from suicide, including 1,280 veterans. I had the honor of meeting the parents of Sergeant Daniel Somers, who served bravely in Operation Iraqi Freedom. On June 13, 2013, Daniel took his own life after suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injury. His family is heartbroken. He left a letter for his family before he took his own life, and I would like to share his words. He wrote: I am sorry that it has come to this. The fact is, for as long as I can remember, my motivation for getting up every day has been so that you would not have to bury me. As things have continued to get worse, it has become clear that this alone is not a sufficient reason to carry on. The fact is I am not getting better, I am not going to get any better, and I will most certainly deteriorate further as time goes on. From a logical standpoint, it is better to simply end things quickly and let any repercussions from that play out in the short term than to drag things out into the long term. I really have been trying to hang on for more than a decade now. Each day has been a testament to the extent to which I cared, suffering unspeakable horror as quietly as possible so that you could feel as though I was still here for you. In truth, I was nothing more than a prop, filling space so that my absence would not be noted. In truth, I have already been absent for a long, long time. My body has become nothing but a cage, a source of pain and constant problems . . . It is nothing short of torture. My mind is a wasteland, filled with visions of incredible horror, unceasing depression, and crippling anxiety. Is it any wonder then that the latest figures show 22 veterans killing themselves each day? That is more veterans than children who were killed at Sandy Hook every single day. Where are the huge policy initiatives? Well, Mr. Speaker, this is a letter that did not have to be written. I can't even imagine the grief of the parents of Daniel, but I also know that they want to spare other parents the same kind of grief. I continue to practice psychology at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at Bethesda. I work with veterans who, like Daniel, suffer from depression and PTSD and traumatic brain injury. I have seen firsthand that, with treatment, these soldiers can and do get better. When our brave men and women come home, they and their families deserve better care. Yet we do not have enough crisis psychiatric hospital beds. Half the counties in America have no psychiatrists or no psychologists. And for every 1,000 people with an addiction disorder, only 6--only 6--get evidence-based care, and families are blocked from helping by a massive bureaucracy. So we can read more sad letters like Daniel's, or we can act. The House answered that call on July 6, 2016, when we passed, by a near- unanimous vote, H.R. 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act. But it only works and it only gives help if it is signed into law. I don't want any more moments of silence for Daniel or the thousands of other veterans or citizens who have died by suicide. We don't need more moments of silence. We need times of action. Those moments of silence are a slap in the face to the mothers and fathers who struggle to get help for their sons and daughters. So I ask: How can the Senate even contemplate the talk of going home before this is passed with this death toll climbing, even when they have the solution in their hands? Indecision and politics are overruling compassion and common sense. What about veterans like Daniel, for whom help never came? On behalf of those silenced voices, I call upon the Senate to take action and pass H.R. 2646 before they go home at the end of September. We must have treatment before tragedy. We must provide mental health support. After all, 90 percent of suicide deaths have a co-occurring mental illness. Otherwise, what will we tell those family members who find the next suicide note, that when there was a chance to act, Congress went home? These veterans will never go home. These thousands of other people who commit suicide, nonveterans, will never go home again, and the Senate should not go home again in September without passing H.R. 2646. Remember, where there is help, there is hope.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, recently, Roger Webb, of the University of Manchester, conducted a study which found that when parents have psychiatric illnesses or have attempted suicide, their children are at increased risk for attempting suicide themselves. Our healthcare system for families with genetic histories of other biological diseases should be no different from those of psychiatric diseases. We must intervene early before the mental health crisis starts. But, unfortunately, in the United States, with too few psychiatric beds, a shortage of psychiatrists and psychologists, and 112 Federal agencies that are a disjointed mess, no, we are not there yet. But the House passed the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act in July to make a difference in this. We now call upon the Senate to make a difference as well. They need to make sure they pass this bill and don't pass up the opportunity to save lives. So far, since September 1, 7,672 lives have been lost related to mental illness; and since the House-passed bill, 61,000. We have to understand we must have treatment before these tragedies and provide help before hope. I hope the Senate passes H.R. 2646 before they leave in September.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, this is Suicide Prevention Month, and we have a lot of work to do. In July the House passed H.R. 2646, our mental health reform act called the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act; but since September 1, the beginning of Suicide Prevention Month, 826 people have died by suicide. Since we passed the bill, 7,434 have died from suicide. Let me tell you one quick story about a young man, a constituent by the name of Chuck Mahoney, who, while in college, suffered from depression. Despite his fraternity brothers going to the administrators and to his counselor, and despite Chuck telling his counselor that he thought he was going to die and there was no reason to live, no one spoke up. No one told the parents. Sadly, young Chuck, who had been a student, who had been captain of his high school football team, a decorated student with great grades, took his own life, hanging himself with his dog's leash, a suicide that could have been prevented if he had seen people who really could treat suicide. But so often what happens in this Nation, when someone cries out for suicide risk, there is no one there to help. Actually, as it turns out, mental illness is a contributing factor in 90 percent of suicides. When a person makes a decision, it usually happens in the first 5 minutes or, at the most, the first hour. There is no time for waiting lists. We have a crisis shortage of psychiatrists and psychologists. We have too few hospital beds. We need something like 100,000 more crisis hospital beds. We have not reauthorized the Suicide Prevention Act in this Congress. We simply don't have enough to treat for a problem that is treatable. When you add to this people who may do a drug overdose, 90 percent of people who are addicted do not get any treatment. Of the 100 out of 1,000 who try to get treatment, 37 can't find any treatment. Of those 63 left who get treatment, only 6 of them get treatment because we simply don't have enough people to treat. This is the mess we are in as a country, but we can do something about that--but it gets worse. In addition to these suicide deaths, if you look at just the mental illness-related deaths in this country, since September 1, as of today, 6,713 have died of a mental illness-related death and 60,000 since we passed our bill in July. The House did its job, but now the Senate needs to do their job. We hear rumors that the Senate is talking about passing the continuing resolution and then going home--going home while this sits on the table in the Senate. Mr. Speaker, I hope that those millions of Americans who have a family member who has been lost to suicide or a chronic illness or a homicide or freezing on some park bench in some unknown part of America, that those families will speak up and let the Senate know: Do not go home and leave this unfinished business on the table. I mean, after all, why campaign and say we could have done something but we didn't? What we ought to be doing is looking at the passage in the Senate of H.R. 2646, which provides more psychiatric crisis hospital beds, more psychiatrists, more psychologists. It revises the HIPAA law that allows the compassionate communication between a doctor and a family member at very select times when someone is at high risk for their health or safety. It reauthorizes the Suicide Prevention Act. It does a host of other things, and all these things can happen only if it gets to the President's desk for a signature. But very little can happen if we maintain the status quo where people are left to die while Congress sits. We did our job in the House. It took years, but when we passed this bill 422-2, Members of Congress, Members of the House of Representatives knew that they had passed a bill that could save lives, but only if we take action. If no action is taken, what do we do? What comfort is there to the families who are dying, who are suffering, saying we could have done something but we decided to wait? The time for waiting is over. I hope, Mr. Speaker, that Members of the House and of the community at large will call their Senators and say the time for passage is now because where there is help there is hope.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, as September is National Suicide Prevention Month, I am proud to join my colleague, Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, in introducing a resolution to address this silent epidemic which took the lives of near 43,000 Americans last year. Last month, the CDC reported the suicide rate has increased across nearly all age groups. And over the past decade, while mortality rates decreased for homicide, AIDS, heart disease, stroke, auto accidents, and cancer, the overall suicide rate increased again for the 11th time in 14 years. Last July, the House passed H.R. 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, by a near-unanimous vote of 422-2. This month alone, 826 Americans have died by suicide, and about 7,434 have died since we passed this bill. We fervently hope the Senate does not delay in passing this bill. Lives hang in the balance. Every 12 minutes a person dies of suicide. Every 13 minutes a family mourns a lost life who will never go home again. The Senate needs to pass this bill before they go home again themselves. Where there is help, there is hope.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank Dr. Tony Mannarino, Dr. Harold Koplewicz, Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, Dr. Shannon Edwards, Dr. Alan Axelson, Dr. Michael Welner, Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, Dr. Sally Satel, and DJ Jaffe for their helping and hard work on the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, over the past several years, I have met with thousands of families of those suffering with severe mental illness. These conversations led to my introduction of the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act. Last Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed this legislation with a near unanimous vote of 422-2. This historic vote closed a tragic chapter in our Nation's treatment of serious mental illness and welcomed a new dawn of help and hope. We have overwhelmingly chosen to deliver treatment before tragedy. I now hope our colleagues in the Senate take up the next chapter and pass H.R. 2646. The current chaotic patchwork of antiquated Federal programs and laws make it impossible for those with serious mental illness to get meaningful care. My bill eliminates wasteful and effective programs and directs money where it is needed most. It is endorsed by over 50 professional organizations and over 60 newspapers. We cannot let these families down. Lives are depending on it. We must continue to work this bill all the way to the President's desk for signature.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 379, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.'' Amendment No. 28 Offered by Mr. Garrett

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2646) to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, our mental health system in this country is a failure. This is one of those times where we are not gathered for a moment of silence, but a time of action. We are here finally to speak up for the last, the lost, the least, and the lonely, that is those who suffer from mental illness which is untreated. Mental illness affects one in five Americans. About 10 million Americans have serious mental illness. About 4 million of those go without any treatment. There are 100,000 new cases each year. Half of psychosis cases emerge by age 14, 75 percent by age 24. We have a need for 30,000 child psychiatrists. We only have 9,000. We have great shortages of psychologists. The time between the emergence of the first symptoms of serious mental illness and the first appointment is about 80 weeks. We need about 100,000 hospital beds in this country, but we only have 40,000 for psychiatric crises. A person is 10 times more likely, therefore, to be in jail than in a hospital if they are mentally ill. And these statistics, too: 43,000 suicides last year, 47,000 drug overdose deaths, 1,000 homicides, 250 mentally ill violently killed in a police encounter where they attacked a policeman. We have hundreds of thousands of homeless and mentally ill who die the slow-motion death of chronic illness, and that comes to more than the number who die of breast cancer, perhaps 350,000 or more a year. The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, a bipartisan bill with over 205 cosponsors, which came out of the Committee on Energy and Commerce with a unanimous vote, fixes this. It allows parents and caregivers to help with care. It increases the number of crisis mental health beds. It drives evidence-based care. It builds on existing mental health and substance abuse parity laws. It brings accountability to Federal grant programs, which two GAO reports say were disastrous. It focuses on innovation and reaches underserved and rural populations, expands the mental health workforce, advances early intervention and prevention programs, develops alternatives to institutionalization, focuses on suicide prevention, increases program coordination across the 112 Federal programs and agencies, reforms protection and advocacy, provides training grants to train police officers and first responders, and saves the Federal Government money. It is wide ranging, it is impactful, and it is something that we are going to have to pass today if we really, truly want to make a difference. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance), a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, who has been supporting this from the onset.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise) the majority whip.

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton), chairman of the full committee and who we owe a great debt of gratitude for moving forward this bill.