Thursday, October 21, 2004

House Defeats Hasty Amendment Barring Mental Health Screenings
Psychiatry News story - "The House of Representatives shows little enthusiasm for a proposal that, based on faulty premises, would have barred the use of federal dollars to conduct mental health screenings. APA had a hand in defeating an amendment to a bill under consideration in the House of Representatives that would have prohibited the use of federal funds for nationwide mental health screenings. Ron Paul (R-Tex.), a gynecologist, was the author of the amendment, which had been tacked on to an appropriations bill funding the departments of Labor and Health and Human Services. Among the concerns that he said led him to introduce his proposal, Paul cited the call for such a screening program in the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, published last year. In fact, the report nowhere says that the federal government should sponsor widespread mental health screenings."  
  

Suicide-prevention bill goes to Bush for signature today
Story in The Oregonian - "President Bush this morning plans to sign a suicide-prevention bill that honors the late son of Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., and focuses national attention on an issue that has gone largely overlooked in the 2004 campaign: mental health. The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act authorizes $82 million to help youths at risk of committing suicide. Calling the legislation a 'good beginning,' Smith pledged to continue working as an advocate for the mentally ill."