January 27, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 17 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session
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ADVANCING RESEARCH TO PREVENT SUICIDE ACT; Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 17
(House of Representatives - January 27, 2020)
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[Pages H549-H550] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] ADVANCING RESEARCH TO PREVENT SUICIDE ACT Mr. McADAMS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4704) to direct the Director of the National Science Foundation to support multidisciplinary research on the science of suicide, and to advance the knowledge and understanding of issues that may be associated with several aspects of suicide including intrinsic and extrinsic factors related to areas such as wellbeing, resilience, and vulnerability, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 4704 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Advancing Research to Prevent Suicide Act''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) The rate of Americans dying by suicide is on the rise, increasing 10.7 to 14.0 deaths per 100,000 people from 2001 to 2017. (2) Suicide is the tenth-leading cause of death among people in the United States and the second-leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 34. (3) The National Science Foundation funds research that is improving our basic understanding of factors with potential relevance to suicide, including potential relevance to prevention and treatment. (4) Despite progress in mental health research, current gaps exist in scientific understanding and basic knowledge of human neural, genetic, cognitive, perceptual, behavioral, social, and environmental factors with potential relevance to suicide. SEC. 3. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION RESEARCH. (a) The Director of the National Science Foundation, in consultation with the Director of the National Institutes of Health and the Director of the National Institute on Mental Health where appropriate, shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, award grants on a competitive, merit- reviewed basis to institutions of higher education (or consortia of such institutions) to support multidisciplinary, fundamental research with potential relevance to suicide, including potential relevance to prevention and treatment, including but not limited to-- (1) basic understanding of human social behavior; (2) the neural basis of human cognition; (3) basic understanding of cognitive, linguistic, social, cultural and biological processes related to human development across the lifespan; (4) basic understanding of perceptual, motor, and cognitive processes, and their interaction, in typical human behavior; and (5) basic understanding of the relevance of drug and alcohol abuse. (b) To promote the development of early career researchers, in awarding funds under subsection (a) the National Science Foundation shall encourage applications submitted by early career researchers, including doctoral students or postdoctoral researchers. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Utah (Mr. McAdams) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gonzalez) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah. {time} 1745 General Leave Mr. McADAMS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 4704, the bill now under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Utah? There was no objection. Mr. McADAMS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bipartisan legislation, H.R. 4704, the Advancing Research to Prevent Suicide Act, which directs the National Science Foundation to support fundamental, multidisciplinary research to further our understanding of suicide. In Utah and across the country, communities are facing a mental health crisis. Public health and medical professionals are tracking an alarming rise in the rate of death by suicide, a 30 percent increase from 2000 to 2016 occurring in nearly every State. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death among Americans age 15 to 24 and the first cause of death for Utahns in the same age range. Behind the statistics are heart-wrenching stories, such as the one I heard in Utah last month. A local television news anchor courageously told her family's personal story. Her 44-year-old husband, who was a physical therapist working toward a doctorate degree, died by suicide. She thought their family was doing well, but what she did not know was that her husband had struggled with depression in secret for years. A week after his death, she went through his phone and noticed a call to a national suicide hotline. The call was placed the day before he died. He didn't say anything to his wife, not that he was struggling or having a hard time. Now, she is using her platform in the newsroom to talk about her experience and break the stigma that surrounds mental illness. People need to understand, she says, that this is not something to be ashamed of and to ensure that we can get help and support to those who find themselves in crisis. In developing this legislation, I recently convened a panel of experts in Utah, including healthcare providers, advocates, and community leaders. One constituent shared with me that her school district has had three students die by suicide in this school year alone. The immense tragedy of this--young people who die far too early--has left an entire community grieving and reflecting upon how we can help those in need. This epidemic has led to much-needed action in Utah to identify and to support those at risk and those in crisis. It has also brought new attention to the need to understand suicide and to help develop interventions to support people at risk. How we understand human behavior, our social ties, and the environments in which we live connects us to understanding what puts people at risk of suicide and how we can support those in crisis, not to mention the changing issues that people face, particularly young people, from economic change and the constant presence of technology that reshape how we live, how we connect, and how we communicate. [[Page H550]] This legislation will contribute to the foundational research that we need to give our mental health professionals the tools to save lives. Madam Speaker, I am proud to have developed the Advancing Research to Prevent Suicide Act with my colleague and my friend, Congressman Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, to direct research into these questions and issues through the National Science Foundation. The National Science Foundation is a cornerstone of our Nation's scientific efforts and leadership. It supports fundamental research in many key fields related to our understanding of suicide--social behavior, cognition, development, genetics, and so much more. I extend my thanks to the teams at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the American Psychological Association for their insight on and endorsement of this legislation. I also thank Chairwoman Johnson and her staff for her support and cosponsorship of this bill and for her leadership on our committee to address the scientific and research issues facing our Nation today. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill that will advance our national efforts to address the suicide crisis, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4704, the Advancing Research to Prevent Suicide Act. I was proud to join my friend, Congressman McAdams, in introducing this legislation, and I thank him for his leadership and his efforts to reduce suicide rates. H.R. 4704 directs the National Science Foundation to support multidisciplinary research to discover the root causes of the growing suicide epidemic across the United States. The Advancing Research to Prevent Suicide Act will work to address suicide from all angles. The research authorized under this bill will look at social and economic factors, the use of technology, and the stigma associated with mental health conditions. Madam Speaker, just this past week, I participated in a suicide prevention roundtable organized by my office to hear from local community leaders and stakeholders about the ongoing efforts to prevent suicide among youth and veterans and to stop suicide contagions from spreading. I left the meeting encouraged by the ongoing efforts in my community, but I also left knowing that there is still much to be done. Madam Speaker, I want to provide my colleagues with some raw data to give a full picture of the scope of the crisis in our country and in my home State of Ohio. The National Center for Health Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data ranking suicide as the 10th most common cause of death among Americans of all ages in 2017. Between 1999 and 2017, the suicide rate increased by 33 percent in the United States. Nationally, the veteran suicide rate is 1\1/2\ times the rate of nonveteran adults, with 6,139 veterans dying from suicide in 2017 alone. Closer to my district, according to a report published by the Northeast Ohio Youth Health Survey, between August 2017 and March 2018, the suicide rate among Stark County youth ages 10-19 rose to more than 7 times the national rate and 11 times the 2011-2016 Stark County rate. Furthermore, between 2000 and 2016, suicide rates increased by 36 percent in the entire State of Ohio. Personally, three of my own college football teammates have taken their lives in the past 12 months alone. We all know we have a mental health crisis in this country, but for me and my constituents, the suicide problem has impacted far too many close to home, as seen by the suicide rates in Stark County and the State of Ohio. Too many times, when I have met with a group of constituents to discuss an international trade or veteran-related policy issue, often, the biggest problem on their mind is the growing suicide threat. In 2018, a high school near my district suffered from what CDC called a suicide contagion, when six students killed themselves within a 6- month timeframe. I sincerely believe that if we want to make a dent in the issue at hand, we need to be more proactive in finding the causes of suicide clusters and suicide contagions. Our children, our veterans, and our neighbors cannot wait much longer. It is imperative that we dig in and put in the work to find the roots of this crisis. The more we know about the fundamental causes, the better equipped we will be as a country to tackle the problem head-on, and that is what this bill does. Madam Speaker, again, I thank Congressman McAdams, Chairwoman Johnson, and Ranking Member Lucas for bringing this bill to the House floor today. I am encouraged by the bipartisanship already shown on this initiative, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to see this bill signed into law. Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in the United States in 2017 and the second leading cause of death among people ages 10-34. For our Nation's veterans, it is an epidemic. We lose 17 veterans in America a day to suicide. This bill will support basic research at the National Science Foundation that will inform better interventions and improve their outcomes. Madam Speaker, I again thank Congressman McAdams for his work on this bill. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. McADAMS. Madam Speaker, we are facing a suicide epidemic in this country. This legislation will bring resources to address this epidemic and to identify solutions that help to bend the curve and help to prevent future death by suicide. Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of this important bipartisan legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time. Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4704, the--Advancing Research to Prevent Suicide Act. I want to thank Representative McAdams for his leadership in this good bipartisan bill, which I am proud to cosponsor. =========================== NOTE =========================== January 27, 2020, on page H550, the following appeared: Mr. JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4704, the--Advancing Research to Prevent Suicide Act. The online version has been corrected to read: Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4704, the-- Advancing Research to Prevent Suicide Act. ========================= END NOTE ========================= Tragically, suicide is a major public health concern in our country. According to the Centers for Disease Control, suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people between ages 10 and 34 and the fourth leading cause of death for individuals between ages 35 and 54. In 2017, suicide accounted for more than twice as many fatalities than homicide. Despite decades of research into the complex and multifaceted risk factors and circumstances that contribute to suicidal thoughts and behavior, the rate of death by suicide is rising. In 2017, 18 out of every 100,000 Americans were lost to suicide. We haven't seen a suicide rate this high since World War II. We must do more to address this crisis. There is a clear need for additional research to improve our understanding of the factors that put a person at risk of experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The Advancing Research to Prevent Suicide Act directs the National Science Foundation to support much needed research on the science of suicide to inform prevention strategies and save lives. I want to once again thank Mr. McAdams for his leadership on this issue. I also want to thank Science Committee Ranking Member Lucas and Representatives Gonzalez and Balderson for their bipartisan efforts to get this bill to the floor today. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. McAdams) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4704, as amended. The question was taken. The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it. Mr. McADAMS. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. ____________________
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