119-hres671

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 671 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 671

 Prioritizing mental health to the same degree as physical health to 
 address the epidemics of suicide and drug overdose in the United 
 States.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 September 2, 2025

 Mr. Thanedar (for himself, Ms. Norton, Mr. Mrvan, and Mrs. Dingell) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
 on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Prioritizing mental health to the same degree as physical health to 
 address the epidemics of suicide and drug overdose in the United 
 States.

Whereas mental health and physical health are inseparable;
Whereas mental health conditions require the same degree of attention as 
 physical health conditions;
Whereas mental health and substance use parity requirements for health insurance 
 plans must be firmly enforced;
Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (in this 
 resolution referred to as ``CDC''), in 2023, suicide was responsible for 
 49,316 deaths, or about 1 death every 11 minutes;
Whereas, according to the CDC, in 2023, an estimated 110,037 lives were lost to 
 drug overdoses;
Whereas, according to the World Health Organization, mental health and many 
 common mental disorders are significantly shaped by the social, 
 economic, and physical environments in which people live;
Whereas social vulnerability, a metric that quantifies the impact of the social 
 determinants of health on county-level populations, is directly 
 associated with risk for adult suicide;
Whereas, according to research published in Addictive Behaviors Reports, adults 
 with a history of adverse childhood experiences (in this resolution 
 referred to as ``ACEs'') have a 4.3-fold higher likelihood of developing 
 a substance use disorder;
Whereas cultural stigma against mental health disorders is an especially notable 
 social determinant of mental health;
Whereas there is a growing body of research on the association between mental 
 health stigma and suicidal actions;
Whereas additional research must be conducted to better understand the 
 relationship;
Whereas cultural stigma against mental illness can lead individuals to engage in 
 self-medication practices, such as illicit drug use, instead of seeking 
 out professional assistance;
Whereas, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
 Administration's (in this resolution referred to as ``SAMHSA'') 2024 
 National Survey on Drug Use and Health Report, an estimated 23.4 
 percent, or 61,500,000, adults aged 18 or older reported having any 
 mental illness (in this resolution referred to as ``AMI'') in the past 
 year;
Whereas, according to SAMHSA, an estimated 5.6 percent, or 14,600,000, adults 
 aged 18 or older reported having a serious mental illness (in this 
 resolution referred to as ``SMI'') in the past year;
Whereas, according to SAMHSA, in 2024, among adults aged 18 or older, those who 
 reported having SMI or AMI in the past year were more likely to have 
 been past year users of illicit drugs than those without mental illness 
 in the past year;
Whereas, according to SAMHSA, 57.4 percent of adults aged 18 or older with SMI 
 and 44.1 percent of adults with AMI reported to have been past-year 
 users of illicit drugs;
Whereas 21.2 percent for adults aged 18 or older with no mental illness reported 
 to have been past year users of illicit drugs;
Whereas, according to SAMHSA, in 2024, 16.8 percent of individuals aged 12 or 
 older had a substance use disorder in the past year;
Whereas, to prevent the perpetuation of this dangerous cycle, mental health 
 education and awareness must begin from an early age, and school-based 
 mental health resources must be better utilized and better funded to 
 achieve this goal; and
Whereas mental illness stigma, and specifically self-stigma, is a significant 
 barrier to mental health services for adolescents and adults that must 
 be addressed: Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

    (1) expresses support for parity between insurance coverage 
 of mental health and physical health treatment, including full 
 enforcement of existing Federal laws concerning mental health 
 parity;

    (2) works to extinguish mental health stigmas in the United 
 States;

    (3) supports the 2024 National Strategy for Suicide 
 Prevention; and

    (4) seeks to provide as many resources and funds as 
 possible to combat the epidemics of suicide and drug overdose 
 by--
        (A) promoting Federal, State, Tribal, and local 
 initiatives to retain and expand the mental health 
 workforce;
        (B) supporting access to and coverage of 
 medication-assisted treatment;
            (C) adopting evidence-based suicide prevention 
 strategies;
            (D) funding linguistically, culturally, and age 
 appropriate services;
        (E) improving quality, coverage, and accessibility 
 of crisis care service; and
        (F) highlighting health promotion campaigns that 
 utilize digital media to target adolescents and young 
 adults.
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