Attempt to dump mental screening fails

[Guest guest]

> R

> Sat, 11 Sep 2004 01:11:41 -0700 (PDT)

> Attempt to dump mental screening

> fails

>

>

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=40384

>

> ON CAPITOL HILL

> Attempt to dump mental screening fails

> Rep. Ron Paul hoped to stop mandatory federal

> program for children

>

>

> Posted: September 10, 2004

> 1:00 a.m. Eastern

>

>

> © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

 

> An amendment offered by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, in

> the House of Representatives yesterday that would

> have remove from an appropriations bill a new

> mandatory mental-health screening program for

> America's children failed by a vote of 95-315.

> Paul's amendment would have removed the program from

> the Labor, HHS and Education Appropriations Act for

> Fiscal Year 2005. Ninety-four Republicans and one

> Democrat sided with Paul, while 118 Republicans, 196

> Democrats and one Independent voted against the

> amendment.

 

> As WorldNetDaily reported, the New Freedom

> Initiative recommends screening not only for

> children but eventually for every American. The

> initiative came out of the New Freedom Commission on

> Mental Health, which President Bush established in

> 2002.

> Critics of the plan say it is a thinly veiled

> attempt by drug companies to provide a wider market

> for high-priced antidepressants and antipsychotic

> medication, and puts government in areas of

> Americans' lives where it does not belong.

> As WND reported yesterday, Kent Snyder of the

> Paul-founded Liberty Committee argued strongly

> against the program:

> " The real payoff for the drug companies is the

> forced drugging of children that will result – as we

> learned tragically with Ritalin – even when parents

> refuse. "

> The congressman, who is known for his strict

> adherence to the Constitution, wrote in a letter to

> his colleagues before the vote: " As you know,

> psychotropic drugs are increasingly prescribed for

> children who show nothing more than children's

> typical rambunctious behavior. Many children have

> suffered harmful effects from these drugs. Yet some

> parents have even been charged with child abuse for

> refusing to drug their children. The federal

> government should not promote national mental-health

> screening programs that will force the use of these

> psychotropic drugs such as Ritalin. "

> The New Freedom Commission found that " despite their

> prevalence, mental disorders often go undiagnosed "

> and recommended comprehensive mental-health

> screening for " consumers of all ages, " including

> preschool children.

> The commission said, " Each year, young children are

> expelled from preschools and childcare facilities

> for severely disruptive behaviors and emotional

> disorders. "

> Schools, the panel concluded, are in a " key

> position " to screen the 52 million students and 6

> million adults who work at the schools.

> Previous stories:

> Forced mental screening hits roadblock in House

> Bush to screen population for mental illness