{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://craig.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-craig-gonzales-introduce-bipartisan-lethal-means-safety-legislation", "Reps. Craig, Gonzales Introduce Bipartisan Lethal Means Safety Legislation", "2023-12-07", "2023", "2023-12", "Democrat", "House", "MN", "Angie Craig", "C001119", "craig.house.gov", "craig", "https://craig.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Today, U.S. Representatives Angie Craig (D-MN-02) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23) introduced bipartisan legislation to expand access to lethal means safety supplies \u2013 like lockboxes and safes \u2013 for parents of children at risk of overdose or suicide.\n\nTheir bipartisan Kid PROOF Act would allow health care providers to purchase and distribute lethal means safety supplies \u2013 like lockboxes or safes \u2013 for children at risk of overdose or suicide. This would help parents safely store opioids or other dangerous materials and keep them away from at-risk children in the home.\n\nResearch shows that proper storage of lethal means \u2013 like opioids or a knife \u2013 saves lives. 95% of individuals considering suicide do not go on to die by suicide when lethal means are effectively stored.\n\n\u201cOur bipartisan legislation takes an informed, compassionate, evidence-based approach to keeping kids safe, and I\u2019m grateful for Rep. Gonzales\u2019 partnership on this important issue,\u201d said Rep. Angie Craig. \u201cAs a mother and a grandmother, I\u2019ll do everything I can to help parents keep their children safe and healthy \u2013 that's what this bipartisan bill will accomplish.\u201d\n\n\u201cReducing access to lethal means for children at risk of suicide is a proven method to decrease suicide rates. Our bill, the Kid PROOF Act, would help physicians obtain funding to provide parents with safes and lockboxes to properly store medications and other dangerous materials,\u201d said Congressman Tony Gonzales. \u201cThe Kid PROOF Act is an important step forward in our commitment as parents to protect our kids. I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this life-saving legislation across the finish line.\u201d\n\nFull text of the Kid PROOF Act can be found here.\n\nReps. Maria Salazar (R-FL-27) and David Trone (D-MD-06) joined as original co-sponsors of the bill. U.S. Senators Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.\n\n\u201cProtecting America\u2019s children starts at home,\u201d said Rep. Maria Salazar. \u201cI am proud to support this compassionate legislation to give healthcare providers the resources they need to empower parents to protect their children. Our national mental health crisis requires bold and incisive solutions, and this bill is a great step toward our ultimate objective: saving lives.\u201d\n\n\"We're living during a time when a record number of Americans are fighting mental illness and substance use disorder. With nearly 110,000 overdose deaths and over 49,000 suicide deaths last year alone, we can't afford to sit on the sidelines any longer,\" said Congressman David Trone, co-chair of the Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force. \"That's why I'm proud to co-lead the Kid PROOF Act to ensure more folks have lockboxes or safes to store opioids and other high-risk, lethal substances. Simple measures like this one can be the difference between life or death, and if we can save just one life it's worth it.\"\n\nLeading national safety and mental health organizations endorsed the Kid PROOF Act.\n\n\u201cToday, members of Congress took an important step to help prevent tragedies at home. The \u2018Kid PROOF Act\u2019 will give parents and families the support they need to protect kids by giving grants for lockboxes and safes to keep potentially lethal items away from children and teens. With the grants provided by children\u2019s health care providers, the \u2018Kid PROOF Act\u2019 will support families in addressing rising rates of youth suicide and overdose. We commend Representatives Craig (D-MN), Gonzales (R-TX), Trone (D-MD), and Salazar (R-FL) for their leadership in introducing this bipartisan bill. In doing so, they are prioritizing our children and taking an important step to stem violence and youth suicide,\u201d said Mark Barden, co-founder and CEO of the Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund.\n\n\u201cAFSP is proud to support the Kid PROOF Act, critical legislation to reduce access to lethal means for our youngest and most vulnerable populations,\u201d said Laurel Stine, J.D., M.A., American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer. \u201cYouth and young adults experience a heightened risk of suicide; according to the CDC, suicide was the third leading cause of death for youth ages 10-19 in 2021. Helping families and communities keep environments safe from lethal means, as an essential and effective component of suicide prevention, is a priority for AFSP, and we stand ready to advocate for the enactment of the Kid PROOF Act.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re pleased to support the Kid PROOF Act, a vital piece of legislation that would further the safety of children by giving parents the means and tools to store potentially harmful objects,\u201d said Christy Gleason, Vice President of Policy, Advocacy & Campaigns for Save the Children. \u201cFar too often, children face harm that is easily preventable, inhibiting them from living their lives to the fullest. Save the Children believes every child has the right to a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm \u2013 and the Kid PROOF Act is important to realizing this bright future for kids.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe national emergency in youth mental health continues to put too many children and teens at risk of self-injury, suicide and overdose. Children\u2019s hospitals support the bipartisan Kid PROOF Act, which will help to provide parents and guardians with the resources and tools that they need to keep their children safe, especially during a mental health crisis,\u201d said Matthew Cook, CEO Children\u2019s Hospital Association.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:14:16Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://craig.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-craig-gonzales-introduce-bipartisan-lethal-means-safety-legislation"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9889390785247087, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}