{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/release/murkowski-hickenlooper-legislation-to-expand-peer-to-peer-mental-health-programs-passes-help-committee", "Murkowski, Hickenlooper Legislation to Expand Peer-to-Peer Mental Health Programs Passes HELP Committee", "2023-12-18", "2023", "2023-12", "Republican", "Senate", "AK", "Lisa Murkowski", "M001153", "www.murkowski.senate.gov", "murkowski", "https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/press-releases?PageNum_rs=16", "scraper", "Provisions from senators\u2019 bipartisan bill included in SUPPORT Act Reauthorization\n\nA negotiated version of U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and John Hickenlooper\u2019s bipartisan Peer-to-Peer Mental Health Support Act passed out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee as a provision within the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act.\n\nMore and more studies have highlighted the impact that peer-to-peer programs have in addressing mental health in youth. In Alaska, schools and health organizations have been proactive in creating partnerships to get mental health supports in schools, and this bill provides necessary investments for school districts to incorporate peer-to-peer mental health support programs for middle and high school students.\n\nThe SUPPORT Act, originally passed in 2018 to help combat the opioid crisis, funds prevention, treatment, and recovery services for Americans with substance use disorders and mental illness. These critical programs need to be reauthorized by Congress this year.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s important we look to every option possible as we work to address the youth mental health crisis that impacts young people in Alaska and nationwide, including meeting kids where they are. Incorporating peer-to-peer mental health support programs in schools helps reduce access challenges for students and works to address the mental health crisis currently facing our youth. I\u2019m proud to join Senator Hickenlooper on this effort,\u201d said Senator Lisa Murkowski.\n\n\u201cColorado\u2019s on the frontline of the youth mental health crisis,\u201d said Senator Hickenlooper. \u201cPeer-to-peer mental health programs help break the stigma around mental health care and connect students to the resources they need.\u201d The senators\u2019 original Peer-to-Peer Mental Health Support Act would help school districts facilitate peer-to-peer mental health programs in middle and high schools. Provisions of the legislation passed as part of the reauthorization of the SUPPORT Act in today\u2019s HELP markup.\u201d\n\nThe program would be administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in consultation with the Department of Education.\n\nCongressman Don Beyer champions the legislation in the House of Representatives and plans to reintroduce a companion this Congress.\n\n\u201cThe suicide rate is at its highest level since 1941. Student-led peer-to-peer initiatives are a key tool that can help prevent needless death, and I\u2019m glad to see it advance on a bipartisan basis,\u201d said Congressman Beyer. \u201cCongress must do all it can to address suicide and mental illness. I thank Senators Hickenlooper and Murkowski for their leadership on this important bill, will continue working on that important effort with colleagues in both parties.\u201d\n\nFull text of the bill available here. View text of the SUPPORT Act here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:56:20Z"]], "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://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/release/murkowski-hickenlooper-legislation-to-expand-peer-to-peer-mental-health-programs-passes-help-committee"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2967679649591446, "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"}