WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
is
requesting an update from Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on his efforts to help
implement the
Seeding
Rural Resilience Act
in coordination with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Grassley is
also seeking answers from the surgeon general on whether the office will be
issuing a rural-focused mental health resource guide for rural youth. During a
Finance Committee hearing in February, Grassley asked the surgeon general to
work with USDA to ensure the
Seeding
Rural Resilience Act is being implemented in a timely manner and across
federal agencies. To date, Grassley has not received a follow-up report from
the surgeon general.
“I appreciate the Surgeon General’s
shared commitment to improve access to mental and behavioral health services in
rural America,” Grassley wrote.
“It’s important for Congress to receive timely updates from the Biden
administration on the implementation of a bipartisan mental health law to help
prevent suicides among farmers and ranchers along with an update on their
efforts to provide mental health resources for rural youth.”
In 2020, Grassley and Sen. Jon Tester
(D-Mont.) successfully included their
Seeding Rural Resilience Act – a bill designed to curb the rising rate of
suicide in rural areas – as part of the
National Defense Authorization Act
(NDAA). The law requires interagency coordination between the Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS), which includes the Office of the Surgeon
General, and USDA.
In December 2021, the surgeon general
issued an
advisory on “Protecting Youth Mental Health.” The advisory established that
youth in rural areas were at higher risk of mental health challenges during the
pandemic. Throughout 2021 and 2022, Grassley participated in four Finance
Committee hearings on improving mental and behavioral health.
Recently, the Finance Committee
issued
a youth mental health discussion draft that includes a Grassley-led priority,
Accelerating
Kids’ Access to Care.
A recent
study
suggests 38 percent of children with complex medical needs have a mental health
diagnosis and many face challenges in accessing mental health care.
Additionally, another
study
has found parents of children with complex medical conditions are five times
more likely to have poor mental health. The
Accelerating
Kids’ Access to Care effort builds on Grassley’s
Advancing
Care for Exceptional (ACE) Kids Act, which became law in 2019, that will improve physical and mental
health care coordination for children with complex medical needs.
Full letter text is available
HERE.
-30-
