Anti-suicide bill OK'd

WASHINGTON — The House passed a bill Thursday that sets aside $82 million over the next three years for programs to help prevent youth suicide.

The 352-64 vote came a year and a day after the 21-year-old son of Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., killed himself.

Smith, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sponsored the bill as a tribute to his son and an attempt to help other families avoid the pain of suicide.

Final approval in the Senate was possible later Thursday after the House made some minor changes to the version that senators passed this summer.

Rep. Greg Walden, who led House debate on the bill, said the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act should encourage young people to speak up and seek help when they feel hopeless or depressed.

"My hope is that no one has to endure the suffering that comes with such a devastating, preventable tragedy," said Walden, R-Ore.

The bill would authorize $82 million over three years to provide grants to states, Indian tribes, colleges and universities to develop youth suicide prevention and intervention programs.

The bill would emphasize screening programs that identify mental illness in children as young as sixth-graders, and provide referrals for community-based treatment and training for child-care professionals.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 3,000 children and young adults take their lives each year, making suicide the third-leading cause of death between the ages of 10 and 24.

During House debate, some lawmakers said some well-intentioned programs end up doing more harm than good.

Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., cited a Michigan case in which a second-grade boy killed himself after watching a film in a suicide prevention class. People who knew the boy said he was not depressed at the time of his death and may have been mimicking what he saw in the film, Garrett said.

In the movie, a boy who tried to hang himself was rescued by his friends. "In real life that did not occur," Garrett said.

Rep. Tom Osborne, a former football coach at the University of Nebraska, said coaches and teachers can work to identify signs of depression.

"There are very, very few suicides which occur where there are not some indications," said Osborne, R-Neb. "It may be a term paper, a theme, a comment in the locker room. So we can build awareness with those people who work with young people, and that is important."

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