What it has to do with Kucinich is beyond me, since it was not supported by any democrats save one from Mississippi.
See this account . . .
http://www.namiscc.org/News/2004/Fall/MentalHealthScreening.htmControversial Bill to Stop Mandatory Mental Health Screening Fails In Congress
Attempt to stop mental health screening funding fizzles
By Rhonda Robinson, Illinois Leader correspondent September 15, 2004
Texas Congressman Ron Paul's attempt to squelch federal funding for mental health screening of school children failed last week in Congress with a vote of 95 for and 315 against.
Four of the 95 amendment supporters were Illinois Republican House members Judy Biggert, Phil Crane, Don Manzullo and Tim Johnson.
Paul's amendment to the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill (HR5006) was an attempt to impede implementation of President Bush's New Freedom Commission recommendations, a program that authorizes and funds state programs for mental health screening of school children.
In a "Dear Colleague" letter Republican Congressman Paul sought support to stop the funding by warning Congress that federally funded universal mental health screening in public schools would lead to more children being labeled and forced into taking psychotropic drugs. He warned that the federal program allowed drugs to be prescribed even when parents withheld permission.
Paul wrote in the letter, "As you know, psychotropic drugs are increasingly prescribed for children who have shown nothing more than children's typical rambunctious behavior."
Children have been harmed by psychotropic drug side effects and parents who refuse them have been charged with child abuse, Paul said in the letter. He urged his fellow House members support in order to ensure that more children would not "spend their wonder years on state-approved psychotropic drugs."
Dr. Karen Effrem, pediatrician from Minnesota, said she had only three days to speak to the federal lawmakers about the pending vote. Effrem told IllinoisLeader.com that she was pleased with 95 supporting the amendment, but did not believe the Senate would consider the legislation.
Groups such as Eagle Forum, Concerned Women for America, Gun Owners of America, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology registered their opposition to a program requiring the universal screening of children's mental health.
Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy (D-MA), an opponent to the amendment sent also sent a "Dear Colleague" letter urging Congress to "Choose Science Not Stigma."
Kennedy's letter asserted that supporters of the amendment did not want screening for mental illnesses "because then we would not have to treat them."
The letter quoted the Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health that encourages drug therapy for behavior disorders, saying "A range of efficacious psychosocial and pharmacologic treatments exists for many mental disorders in children, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, and the disruptive disorders."
Dr. Effrem, who has been a vocal opponent to widespread use of psychotropic drugs for children, argues Kennedy's point by quoting an earlier Surgeon General Report which cautioned in 1999, "
sychostimulants do not appear to achieve long-term changes in outcomes such as peer relationships, social or academic skills, or school achievement."
Paul's amendment would have thwarted the development of Illinois' Children's Mental Health Partnership's Preliminary Plan, which has just come to Illinois parents' attention during a recent week of public hearings.
Illinois is the first state prepared to fully implement the federal recommendations, and the mental health partnership's final draft proposal to overhaul the state's mental health system is due on Governor Blagojevich's desk at the end of September.
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