Jefferson Reporter

U.S. Senator Katie Britt recently appeared on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" to discuss her bipartisan initiatives aimed at addressing the growing mental health crisis among youth in the United States.

"[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," stated Senator Britt during the interview.

Senator Britt recounted her meeting with Gina and Steve Meyer, parents of Stanford University student and national champion soccer player Katie Meyer, who died by suicide in 2022. She emphasized the importance of their story and its impact on her work as a senator.

"My meeting with Gina and Steve was no doubt one of the most impactful meetings I’ve had as a U.S. Senator," said Britt. She shared how she was urged by Senator John Fetterman to meet with them immediately, highlighting their efforts to protect other families from similar tragedies.

Britt also stressed the need for awareness regarding mental health issues, particularly among college students, noting that these challenges "literally know no bounds."

"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," she remarked.

In September, Senators Britt and Fetterman introduced the Stop the Scroll Act, which aims to implement mental health warning labels on social media platforms based on recommendations from Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy.

"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," explained Britt.

Additionally, Senator Britt has been involved in several legislative efforts concerning youth mental health, including co-sponsoring various acts focused on social media use among children and adolescents.

A video of Senator Britt’s segment on "The Lead" is available online for those interested in viewing her complete discussion on this pressing issue.