Barbara Lee: “Congresswoman Jayapal's bill is extremely important, and I hope that Republicans also join us in this effort because…”

“Congresswoman Jayapal's bill is extremely important, and I hope that Republicans also join us in this effort because this is a concern that should be bipartisan or nonpartisan. But let me just mention a couple of things. Everyone who is a parent, a grandparent, or has ever babysat children, or who has been around children, if a child walks off, or you can't locate the child that you are caring for, I know you have felt the panic. I know when my children were small, and I would turn around and they were gone it was like: Oh, my God, what has happened? And the anxiety and the fear, and just getting very emotionally distraught behind not knowing where my children were, will always be with me. So I think everyone in our country should understand what these parents are going through and what a lost child is feeling if they have had that experience before. We had a hearing on this family separation policy in the Appropriations Committee, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Services Subcommittee, and we had a panel of individuals. Some were mental health professionals. And we were told in no uncertain terms that a day or two of counseling is not going to get it. These parents and these children need a specific form of psychotherapy, and it has got to be sustained. It has got to be professional, and it has got to be the type of therapy that addresses specifically trauma. So I am not sure that DHS even understands this.…”