Patrick Kennedy: “I yield 5 minutes to myself. Mr. Chairman, Marley Prunty-Lara is here today in the gallery. She is an articulate young…”

“I yield 5 minutes to myself. Mr. Chairman, Marley Prunty-Lara is here today in the gallery. She is an articulate young woman living with bipolar disorder, and she is a suicide attempt survivor. She is in town because she was here to testify yesterday about her struggle with bipolar disorder, being forced to drop out of school and ultimately attempting to take her own life. Marley's family attempted to find a psychiatrist in South Dakota to treat her, but they were told that they would have to wait over 4 months to get an initial appointment. Because her mother's insurance would not cover residential treatment and they were so desperate to find care, they took out a second mortgage on their house, and they drove over 350 miles to another State to get Marley the life-saving care that she needed. Mr. Chairman, Marley's story is all too common. There are just not enough trained professionals to treat the mental health needs of our children. Surgeon General Carmona has said so. The President's New Freedom Commission has said so. For the past three Congresses, my good friend from Florida Ms. Ros- Lehtinen and I have introduced legislation aimed at alleviating the shortage of child and adolescent mental health providers in this country. While this amendment does not cover everything included in the previous three bills, it is a start.…”