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The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. HULSHOF). Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. HOLT) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to associate myself with the remarks of the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. JACKSON-LEE), and I thank her for organizing this Special Order this evening to talk about an issue that is not getting enough attention, the issue of mental health. It is an issue that needs so much attention, because, as the speakers tonight have pointed out, we have a lot of work to do.
We talk about health care a great deal here, but there is an aspect of health care that does not get much talk. Many of us can remember a day when we could not talk about cancer or about AIDS, how many people suffered; people who did not come forward for treatment because of those stigmas. Mental illness is really the last great health stigma. We need to continue this fight, to fight the ignorance, first of all, to fight the ignorance with information. All of us can think of Americans who have struggled with mental illness, whether it was Abraham Lincoln or William Styron or countless others.
Mr. Speaker, the fact is, we do not need to look that far. All of us, every one of us knows someone who has had a mental health problem. In fact, 50 million Americans will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives. Those Americans deserve our respect, our help, and our understanding. But because of the stigma associated with mental illness, the job is harder. We not only have to work to pass protections for those who suffer from mental illness, protections like a strong Patients' Bill of Rights, parity in insurance coverage for serious mental illness, guidelines for the use of restraints in mental health facilities; in addition, we have to educate people. We have to educate them about the misperceptions that are associated with mental illness, Mr. Speaker, to assure everyone that Americans can and should get the mental help they need to lead productive lives, whether they are suffering from depression, bipolar illness, or schizophrenia, because only 20 percent of people seek treatment for mental health conditions, and it is a tragedy. We must create a climate to change that. We need to help stress that early intervention, continued research at NIH, and the National Institutes of Mental Health will help lead to better treatment and a cure for mental illness.
Mr. Speaker, we talk about the violence in schools, and, of course, there are many aspects to that. There are many facets to the violence that we have seen. It raises questions about our parenting, about our teaching, about our school administering, about our policing. It raises questions about almost every aspect of our society. But one thing that it clearly cries out for is more attention to the mental health of our children in school. School counselors are not just those who advise students on college admission. We should have counselors in ample supply in all of the schools to deal with the tough growing up problems, including mental health problems that our students experience. Most of all, we need to remind people that mental illness affects people and it affects families.
So I am proud to join tonight with the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. JACKSON-LEE) to continue to call attention to this important subject. I am pleased to join the gentlewoman in recognizing the courage of those who are living productive lives with mental illness.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield.
Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield to the gentlewoman from Texas.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman, first of all, for his leadership and adding to the discussion on the floor, which really is adding to the national debate that people are not living alone with mental illness or mental health needs, nor are their children. I thank the distinguished gentleman for all that he is doing, and I think that we can collectively do this in a bipartisan way to take the stigma, the harshness out of people who truly need help.
Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman is very eloquent and has been very eloquent on the subject this evening, as she always is on every subject.
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