Rep. Andrea Salinas Advocates for Student Mental Health Bill at House Energy and Commerce Committee Hearing
Click here to watch Rep. Salinas’ full remarks.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06) spoke to the House Energy and Commerce Committee to advocate for her bipartisan bill, the Mental Health Services for Students Act. The bill, which passed the House in the 117th Congress, would bring critical, on-site mental health services to students in public schools across the country and provide $300 million in federal funding for school-based mental health programs to address the nation’s youth mental health crisis.
A transcript of Salinas’ floor speech is available below:
Thank you, Chair Guthrie and members of the committee for holding this Member Day.
I am here to present my bipartisan bill, H.R. 5557, the Mental Health Services for Students Act.
Our children and young people are really struggling today. The United States is in the midst of a mental health crisis, and our youth are really bearing the brunt of this.
Last year, over 20 percent of children aged 12-17 reported at least one major depressive episode in the preceding year. And 15 percent of youth who experienced a major depressive episode reported that their ability to function at work, school, and home was impacted.
In 2023, more than 20 percent of high school students seriously considered attempting suicide. That’s one in five. That is not okay, and I know that’s not okay to every single member of this committee.
As co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Mental Health Caucus, I have spent a lot of time engaging with families, children, and providers to understand exactly what it is that our children need to thrive. This past May, the Mental Health Caucus hosted a roundtable with children and young people from across the country to hear their frustrations with mental health services that don’t truly meet their needs. And they were very articulate. They knew the ins and outs of our system.
There’s no great mystery about what it takes to help these children. It’s quite simple. They need resources. And they need those resources to meet them where they are—in their schools.
Currently, over half of our public schools nationwide report struggling to provide adequate mental health services to their students, and things will likely only get worse.
The next decade will bring half a trillion dollars in Medicaid cuts as well as cuts to the Department of Education and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). We’re going in the wrong direction toward meeting the needs of our students and children.
The Mental Health Services for Students Act helps move us in the right direction. It will help get providers into schools proactively, help students build resiliency, and equip them with the tools they need to thrive throughout their life, putting us on the right path to meet this mental health crisis head on—and hopefully also reduce the next generation of substance abuse and mental health crises.
More specifically, my legislation expands SAMHSA’s Project AWARE Program. Project AWARE, or Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education program, develops sustainable infrastructure for school-based mental health programs and services.
Project AWARE focuses on three tiers of mental health funding. First, the program prioritizes universal prevention and mental health promotion to keep kids healthy and give them the tools to manage life’s ups and downs. This is no different than how we promote healthy eating and exercise to mitigate chronic disease—so for those who are already well.
Second, Project AWARE devotes funding to intervention services through school-based screenings to identify those who are at-risk and provide services to youth experiencing distress, trauma, bereavement, or other issues.
And finally, the program focuses on children who are already exhibiting mental and substance use disorder issues, so it ensures that they have the right supports to get on the path of recovery.
We know that Project AWARE is effective. In fact, my friend, Rep. Grace Napolitano advocated for nationalizing and expanding Project AWARE during her time here in Congress because this program has been working in Los Angeles and in her district since 2001.
The Youth Suicide Prevention program serves 35 schools in the L.A. area and has proved tremendously successful in helping students overcome mental health issues.
In Oregon, we’ve invested $5.4 million into the Community Care Development Project, and we’ve seen similar success. It’s time to expand on the success programs so students can benefit and families can, too.
Investing in our children is the healthy and fiscally right choice. That’s why, so far, this bill has garnered over 60 bipartisan cosponsors and counting.
In the 118th Congress, Congresswoman Napolitano introduced this legislation with 130 bipartisan cosponsors.
And in the 117th Congress this bill actually passed the House floor twice—once as a standalone bill and once as part of the Restoring Hope for Mental Wellbeing Act. This bill also enjoys support from countless mental health and education associations.
It’s clear that healthy children who have the tools to care for their mental and physical health become high-functioning, independent adults and lead the next generation in similar behaviors.. This bill gives them these tools, which is why I ask that this committee to work with me to advance this bill.
Thank you so much for your time.