Gus Bilirakis: “I thank the ranking member and the chairman for this very important bill. I rise in strong support of H.R. 7666, the…”

“I thank the ranking member and the chairman for this very important bill. I rise in strong support of H.R. 7666, the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act, which reauthorizes and improves key SAMHSA block grant programs for mental health and substance use disorder prevention and treatment services. These are all targeted toward helping our constituents who have struggled with anxiety, stress, and isolation. Sadly, our Nation is experiencing an unprecedented mental health crisis, particularly among our children and teens. It has only gotten worse during the COVID pandemic, Mr. Speaker. We have seen a disturbing spike in rates of depression, self-harm, suicide attempts, and death among teens. Teen depression, in particular, has risen by 60 percent. We cannot afford to wait any longer to address this mental health and addiction crisis, and this package presents much-needed solutions that will enact meaningful changes to help combat the trends we have seen. Specifically, I am very glad to see in the manager's amendment a provision I have long advocated for that will require HHS to conduct research on smartphone and social media use by adolescents and the effects of such use on emotional and behavioral health. {time} 1445 All of us agree on the need to better protect our children and their mental health from social media, and this is an excellent start.…”