ICYMI: U.S. Senator Katie Britt Joins The Lead with Jake Tapper, Discusses Mental Health Legislation
‘This is not a Democrat issue. This is not a Republican issue. This is an American issue.’
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 1, 2024 – U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) joined CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper to discuss her bipartisan efforts to combat our nation’s growing youth mental health crisis.
“[Mental health] is not a Democrat issue. This is not a Republican issue. This is an American issue. We have an obligation to tackle it as such,” said Senator Britt.
In the interview, Senator Britt spoke about her meeting with Gina and Steve Meyer, who are sharing their daughter’s story and working to ensure other families don’t face the same tragedy. Katie Meyer was a Stanford University student, national champion soccer player, team captain, and highly successful leader within her community. She died by suicide in 2022.
“My meeting with Gina and Steve was no doubt one of the most impactful meetings I’ve had as a U.S. Senator,” said Senator Britt. “When you think about how it came about, I think it gives you a little bit of a window into the U.S. Senate. I got a phone call from [Senator] John Fetterman who said, ‘Hey, Katie, I want you to take this meeting and let’s make it happen today.’ After that, they came into my office and sat down and began to tell me their story.”
“As I listened, probably very much like you, I listened as a parent. And I just want to say, as remarkable as Katie Meyer was on this world, there is no doubt to me where she got her tenacity. What Gina and Steve are doing is just incredible: the resiliency and determination that they are showing in the face of the unthinkable … [Gina and Steve] are not only working to protect [their three daughters] and to continue Katie’s legacy, but they’re working to protect young men and women all across this country from coast to coast.”
“I mean, you know that [the mental health crisis] literally knows no bounds. I was just talking to a wonderful woman right before I came on. And when I told her Katie story, she said, ‘That reminds me of what I tell people.’ She said, ‘I tell them check on your strong friends, too.’ And so I think bringing awareness to the mental health issues in front of us as a nation, knowing that when you look at Katie’s story, her parents will share with you that she had no [mental] health history … And so to make that a reality, to talk to people, to break down the stigma, to talk about 988, if you need it. You are never alone. We are always here for you and we need to make sure that our students on college campuses know that too, Jake.”
Senator Britt also discussed the reason she cares so much about addressing America’s mental health crisis.
“When [Senator Fetterman and I] got the CDC reports last year and we saw that one in three high school young women actually considered suicide, and then 9% of our high school population actually attempted death by suicide, [clearly] the time for action is now.”
In September, Senators Britt and Fetterman introduced the Stop the Scroll Act, which would create a mental health warning label requirement for social media platforms to ensure all users are aware of the potential mental health risks posed by social media usage and are provided access to mental health resources. The Senators led this bipartisan legislation to codify Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy recommendation for a warning label be placed on social media platforms.
“When you look at what the warning labels have done in the industry, like tobacco, warning people of the challenges and the health challenges that can occur from using—that’s exactly what we want in the social media space,” said Senator Britt. “So essentially a warning label would pop up—it wouldn’t prevent anyone from using it. It would just make [users] aware of the mental health challenges that can occur by usage. . . The one thing Senator Fetterman and I said is we want to make sure that there is a link to help included on that warning. And we envision that in being something like 988. Telling people, ‘if you are struggling, we want you to click here. We want you to call this number.’ . . . We’re both parents, and as Senator Fetterman and I look at these issues, we look at it very similar to Gina and Steve—as parents who want to do what we what we can to put up the proper guardrails that will allow our children to flourish and ultimately achieve their American dream.”
Senator Britt is a strong advocate for mental health legislation—working across the aisle with her colleagues to find commonsense solutions to protect our nation’s youth while holding social media platforms accountable.
In May, Senator Britt joined Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), each a parent of school-aged children, in introducing the Kids Off Social Media Act. Additionally, Senator Britt is a cosponsor of Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal’s (D-Conn.) Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). A version of KOSA passed the Senate this summer.
Senator Britt, along with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), also introduced the Youth Mental Health Research Act to create a national Youth Mental Health Research Initiative to guide long-term mental health care efforts, better target preventive interventions for those at risk of developing mental health challenges, and improve treatments for children.
A full video of Senator Britt’s segment is available HERE.
###
