Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1475, the Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act, sponsored by Representative Watson Coleman.

This important bill helps address suicide and mental illness in youth from minority and underserved communities.

Despite improvements in health quality, disparities in mental healthcare persist. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has reported that racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. are less likely to have access to mental health services, less likely to use community mental health services, more likely to use emergency departments, and more likely to receive lower quality care.

Poor mental healthcare access and quality ultimately contribute to poor outcomes, including suicide among these populations. These issues are especially acute in minority youth populations.

This bill would help address these disparities by authorizing grants targeted at high-poverty communities for culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health services, supporting mental health disparities research, studying the impact of smartphones and social media on adolescents, and reauthorizing the Minority Fellowship Program to support more students of color entering the mental health workforce.

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Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for the purpose of closing.

Madam Speaker, again, this is a very important issue, and I am glad we are here today to address it. We need to address it. My hopes and prayers are, as we move forward with this piece of legislation, we get the help that communities needed.

I support this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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