IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 212 

Expressing support for designation of May 2013 as Mental Health Month. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2013 

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, 

Mr. LANCE, Mr. CASSIDY, Mrs. ELLMERS, Mr. BARBER, Ms. BORDALLO, 

Ms. BROWN of Florida, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, 

Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mrs. 

CHRISTENSEN, Ms. CHU, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. CONNOLLY, 

Mr. CONYERS, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. FARR, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. GRIJALVA, 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HONDA, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. EDDIE

BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. KUSTER, Ms. LEE of 

California, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. BEN RAY LUJA ́N of New 

Mexico, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. MCCOLLUM, 

Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MOORE, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. PETERS of California, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. 

RAHALL, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUSH, Mr. RYAN of 

Ohio, Mr. SABLAN, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. 

TONKO, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. ESTY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. GARAMENDI, 

Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. VELA, Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California, Ms. 

HAHN, Mr. PETERS of Michigan, Mr. DUFFY, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. GRIFFIN of Arkansas, Mr. YOHO, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, 

Mrs. ROBY, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. BUCHANAN, and Mr. 

HECK of Nevada) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for designation of May 2013 as Mental 

Health Month. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 212 IH 

Whereas the mental health and well-being of people in the 

United States is a critical issue that affects not only 

quality of life, but also the health of communities, families, and economic stability; 

Whereas the stigma associated with mental health continues 

to persist; 

Whereas more than 57,000,000 people in the United States 

suffer from mental illness; 

Whereas approximately 1 in 5 children and adolescents has 

a diagnosable mental disorder; 

Whereas post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) afflicts 15 to 

20 percent of veterans of the war in Afghanistan and 20 

percent of Iraqi war veterans; 

Whereas roughly 20 to 50 percent of all prison and jail inmates are diagnosed with a mental illness; 

Whereas mental illness is the leading cause of disability in 

the Nation; 

Whereas major mental illness costs businesses and the United 

States economy over $193,000,000,000 per year in lost 

earnings; 

Whereas untreated mental illness is a leading cause of absenteeism and lost productivity in the workplace; 

Whereas in 2012, over 38,000 people died by suicide in the 

United States, and more than 500,000 people in the 

United States attempt suicide each year; 

Whereas suicide is the second leading cause of death among 

individuals between the ages of 25 and 34; 

Whereas in 2004, individuals age 65 and older comprised 

only 12.4 percent of the population but accounted for 

16.6 percent of all suicides, and the rate of suicide 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 212 IH 

among older people is higher than for any other age 

group; 

Whereas 1 in 4 Latin American adolescents report seriously 

contemplating suicide, a rate higher than any other demographic; 

Whereas Native Americans currently rank as the top ethnicity for suicide rates nationwide; 

Whereas studies report that people with serious mental illness 

die, on average, 25 years earlier than the general population; 

Whereas untreated schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other 

psychotic illnesses, especially in persons with a substance 

abuse disorder or a history of violence, may result in increased violent behavior and those who do not receive 

treatment are 15 times more likely to commit a violent 

act than those who are receiving treatment; 

Whereas lack of awareness of one’s mental illness affects approximately 50 percent of individuals with schizophrenia 

and 40 percent of individuals with bipolar disorder; 

Whereas the delay between a first episode of psychosis and 

onset of treatment is an average of 110 weeks; 

Whereas medication and psychosocial therapies have proven 

effective in treating mental illness; and 

Whereas it would be appropriate to observe May 2013 as 

Mental Health Month: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports the designation of Mental Health 

3 Month in order to place emphasis on scientific facts 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 212 IH 

1 and findings regarding mental health and to remove 

2 the stigma associated with mental illness; 

3 (2) recognizes that mental well-being is equally 

4 as important as physical well-being for citizens, com5 munities, businesses, and the economy in the United 

6 States; 

7 (3) applauds the coalescing of national and 

8 community organizations in working to promote 

9 public awareness of mental health and providing 

10 critical information and support to the people and 

11 families affected by mental illness; 

12 (4) supports the finding of the President’s 

13 Commission on Mental Health that the Nation’s fail14 ure to prioritize mental health is a national tragedy; 

15 and 

16 (5) encourages all organizations and health 

17 practitioners to use Mental Health Month as an op18 portunity to promote mental well-being and aware19 ness, ensure access to appropriate services, and sup20 port overall quality of life for those living with men21 tal illness. 

Æ 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS