IA

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. J. RES. 148

To designate the week of October 3, 1993, through October 9, 1993, as

‘‘Mental Illness Awareness Week’’.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 10, 1993

Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. KASICH, Mr. WISE, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. NEAL

of Massachusetts, Mr. MACHTLEY, Mr. BLACKWELL, Mr. BREWSTER,

Mr. CRAMER, Mr. KOPETSKI, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. BACCHUS of Florida, Mr.

STUDDS, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PETERSON of Florida, Mr.

HUNTER, Mr. SPRATT, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. FILNER,

Mr. WALSH, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. BUYER,

Mr. KREIDLER, Mr. SHAYS, Ms. E.B. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. ROWLAND,

Mr. JACOBS, Mr. MORAN, Mr. FROST, Mr. MONTGOMERY, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. COOPER, Mr. SPENCE, Mr. MAZZOLI, Mr. MARKEY, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. KLECZKA,

Mr. GEJDENSON, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. FORD of Tennessee, Mr. WAXMAN,

Mr. SYNAR, Mr. KING, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mrs. UNSOELD, Mr. WOLF, Mr.

RANGEL, and Mr. PICKETT) introduced the following joint resolution;

which was referred to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service

JOINT RESOLUTION

To designate the week of October 3, 1993, through October

9, 1993, as ‘‘Mental Illness Awareness Week’’.
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Whereas mental illness is a problem of grave concern and

consequence in the United States and it is widely, but

unnecessarily, feared and misunderstood;

Whereas on an annual basis 40,000,000 adults in the United

States suffer from clearly diagnosable mental disorders,

including mental illness, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse,

which create significant disabilities with respect to employment, school attendance, and independent living;

Whereas more than 11,200,000 United States citizens are diagnosed with schizophrenia, manic depressive disorder,

and major depression, and some of these individuals have

been disabled for long periods of time;

Whereas 33 percent of homeless persons suffer serious,

chronic forms of mental illness;

Whereas alcohol, drug, and mental disorders affect almost 22

percent of adults in the United States in any 1-year

period;

Whereas mental illness interferes with the development and

maturation of at least 12,000,000 of our children;

Whereas a majority of the 30,000 American citizens who

commit suicide each year suffer from a mental or an addictive disorder;

Whereas our growing population of elderly persons faces

many obstacles to care for mental disorders;

Whereas 20 to 25 percent of persons with AIDS will develop

AIDS-related cognitive dysfunction and as many as twothirds of persons with AIDS will show neuropsychiatric

symptoms before they die;

Whereas mental illnesses, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse result in staggering costs to society, estimated to be in ex-
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cess of $273,000,000 annually in direct treatment and

support and indirect costs to society, including lost productivity;

Whereas the Federal research budget committed to the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute

of Drug Abuse, and the National Institute of Alcoholism

and Alcohol Abuse represents only about 1 percent of the

direct treatment and support costs of caring for persons

with alcohol, drug, and mental disorders;

Whereas mental illnesses are increasingly treatable disorders

with excellent prospects for amelioration when properly

recognized;

Whereas persons with mental illness and their families have

begun to join self-help groups seeking to combat the unfair stigma of mental illness, to support greater national

investment in research, and to advocate an adequate continuum of care from hospital to community;

Whereas in recent years there have been unprecedented major

research developments bringing new methods and technology to the sophisticated and objective study of the

functioning of the brain and its linkages to both normal

and abnormal behavior;

Whereas research in recent decades has led to a wide array

of new and more effective modalities of treatment (somatic, psychosocial, and service delivery) for some of the

most incapacitating forms of mental illness, including

schizophrenia, major affective disorders, phobias, and

phobic disorders;

Whereas appropriate treatment of mental illness has been

demonstrated to be cost effective in terms of restored
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productivity, reduced use of other health services, and

lessened social dependence; and

Whereas recent and unparalleled growth in scientific knowledge about mental illness has generated the current

emergence of a new threshold of opportunity for future

research advances and fruitful application to specific clinical problems: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 That the week of October 3, 1993, through October 9,

4 1993, is designated as ‘‘Mental Illness Awareness Week’’.

5 The President is authorized and requested to issue a proc6 lamation calling upon the people of the United States to

7 observe such week with appropriate programs, ceremonies,

8 and activities.

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