House Votes to Advance Trahan's Bipartisan Youth Mental Health Legislation

Press Release

Yesterday, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee, secured passage of her bipartisan legislation to renew critical youth mental health and suicide prevention programs.

"Before the COVID-19 pandemic, youth mental health was a serious problem that had to be addressed. Today, it's a crisis, and we need to invest in proven programs that help young people and save lives," said Congresswoman Trahan. "That's what this bipartisan legislation will do by extending key programs through the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act. Providing more mental health resources, bolstering suicide prevention efforts, and ending the stigma associated with getting help are essential, and I look forward to working with our partners in the Senate to ensure these programs continue well into the future."

In March, Trahan joined with Representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-05), Young Kim (R-CA-39), and Cindy Axne (D-IA-03) to lead the introduction of bipartisan legislation to reauthorize important programs established under the Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Memorial Act, which support community-based youth and young adult suicide prevention efforts. The GLS Memorial Act is named after the son of former Oregon Senator Gordon Smith. Garrett died by suicide in his apartment in Utah where he attended college in 2004. These bipartisan programs were last renewed in 2016 and are set to expire at the end of fiscal year 2022.

The programs reauthorized under Trahan's legislation have strong track records of success. From 2006-2015, a study found that counties exposed to GLS initiatives in a single year had lower youth suicide rates and for a longer period of time in comparison to counties without such programs in place. Another study found counties implementing GLS programs had significantly lower suicide rates for youth and young adults following implementation, which was estimated to have averted 79,000 suicide attempts.

The bipartisan legislation, passed as part of a larger bipartisan mental health package that included Trahan's addiction crisis legislation known as the MATE Act, now moves the Senate for consideration.

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