Mental Health Screening for Kids- Part II

[Guest guest]

From: richangell2@...

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Rich

Mental Health Screening for Kids- Part II

September 20, 2004

Last week I wrote about a presidential initiative called the “New Freedom Commission on Mental Health,” which issued a report calling for the mandatory mental health screening of American schoolchildren. This new proposal threatens to force millions of kids to undergo psychiatric screening, whether their parents consent or not. At issue is the fundamental right of parents to decide what medical treatment is appropriate for their children.

I introduced an amendment to eliminate any funding for the proposal in a Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services spending bill. Although the amendment failed, the response to my office has been overwhelming and highly supportive. The notion of federal bureaucrats ordering potentially millions of youngsters to take psychotropic drugs like Ritalin strikes an emotional chord with American parents, who are sick of relinquishing more and more parental control to government.

Some members of Congress objected to my amendment on the grounds that the federal screening program does not yet exist, so it’s premature to oppose it. But the whole point was to prevent the proposal from being implemented in the first place. Once created, federal programs are nearly impossible to eliminate. Congress had a rare opportunity to stop a bad idea in its tracks, before it becomes entrenched. Every member who opposes the idea of forcing kids to undergo mental health screening should have sent a strong statement by voting for my amendment. They will have another chance to kill the initiative when I introduce a stand-alone bill later this year.

Furthermore, it’s not true that no money has been allocated for the proposal. The Appropriations committee, which distributes your tax dollars to the various federal agencies, specifically allotted $20 million in the HHS/Education bill for state programs in support of the New Freedom commission report. These federally-funded state programs will be the precursors of the broader federal program recommended by the commission. Anyone who understands bureaucracies knows they assume more and more power incrementally. A few scattered state programs over time will be replaced by a federal program implemented in a few select cities. Once the limited federal program is accepted, it will be expanded nationwide. Once in place throughout the country, the screening program will become mandatory. This is why we can never trust new bureaucratic programs: no matter how benevolent their proponents claim them to be, most programs morph into something much larger than originally foreseen. Those who view my concerns as alarmism fail to understand the inevitable nature of bureaucratic growth.

Soviet communists attempted to paint all opposition to the state as mental illness. It now seems our own federal government wants to create a therapeutic nanny state, beginning with schoolchildren. It’s not hard to imagine a time 20 or 30 years from now when government psychiatrists stigmatize children whose religious, social, or political values do not comport with those of the politically correct, secular state.

American parents must do everything they can to remain responsible for their children’s well-being. If we allow government to become intimately involved with our children’s minds and bodies, we will have lost the final vestiges of parental authority. Strong families are the last line of defense against an overreaching bureaucratic state.

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LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS -

NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE.Have nothing to do with the evil deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Ephesians 5:11

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Eph. 6:12).

[Guest guest]

http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2004/tst092004.htm

Mental Health Screening for Kids- Part II

September 20, 2004

Last week I wrote about a presidential initiative called the “New Freedom

Commission on Mental Health,” which issued a report calling for the

mandatory mental health screening of American schoolchildren. This new

proposal threatens to force millions of kids to undergo psychiatric

screening, whether their parents consent or not. At issue is the

fundamental right of parents to decide what medical treatment is appropriate

for their children.

I introduced an amendment to eliminate any funding for the proposal in a

Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services spending

bill. Although the amendment failed, the response to my office has been

overwhelming and highly supportive. The notion of federal bureaucrats

ordering potentially millions of youngsters to take psychotropic drugs like

Ritalin strikes an emotional chord with American parents, who are sick of

relinquishing more and more parental control to government.

Some members of Congress objected to my amendment on the grounds that the

federal screening program does not yet exist, so it’s premature to oppose

it. But the whole point was to prevent the proposal from being implemented

in the first place. Once created, federal programs are nearly impossible to

eliminate. Congress had a rare opportunity to stop a bad idea in its

tracks, before it becomes entrenched. Every member who opposes the idea of

forcing kids to undergo mental health screening should have sent a strong

statement by voting for my amendment. They will have another chance to kill

the initiative when I introduce a stand-alone bill later this year.

Furthermore, it’s not true that no money has been allocated for the

proposal. The Appropriations committee, which distributes your tax dollars

to the various federal agencies, specifically allotted $20 million in the

HHS/Education bill for state programs in support of the New Freedom

commission report. These federally-funded state programs will be the

precursors of the broader federal program recommended by the commission.

Anyone who understands bureaucracies knows they assume more and more power

incrementally. A few scattered state programs over time will be replaced by

a federal program implemented in a few select cities. Once the limited

federal program is accepted, it will be expanded nationwide. Once in place

throughout the country, the screening program will become mandatory. This

is why we can never trust new bureaucratic programs: no matter how

benevolent their proponents claim them to be, most programs morph into

something much larger than originally foreseen. Those who view my concerns

as alarmism fail to understand the inevitable nature of bureaucratic growth.

Soviet communists attempted to paint all opposition to the state as mental

illness. It now seems our own federal government wants to create a

therapeutic nanny state, beginning with schoolchildren. It’s not hard to

imagine a time 20 or 30 years from now when government psychiatrists

stigmatize children whose religious, social, or political values do not

comport with those of the politically correct, secular state.

American parents must do everything they can to remain responsible for their

children’s well-being. If we allow government to become intimately involved

with our children’s minds and bodies, we will have lost the final vestiges

of parental authority. Strong families are the last line of defense against

an overreaching bureaucratic state.