mr. chairman , the danger in our society now is basing policy on old stereotypes that somehow mental health and mental science is not real science . 
i have here a board that shows that there is a different metabolizing in people 's brains for those who have mental illness versus those who do not . 
we have the tools today with pet scans and mris to be able to diagnose brain disorders and mental illnesses , and these things are backed up by science . 
the notion in this amendment that somehow mental illness is not a real illness , that mental health is not real health , and that is why in this country we continue to discriminate against these illnesses by having them pay higher copays , higher premiums , and higher deductibles than other health care costs . 
what is the difference between treating an organ in the brain and diabetes and kidneys ? 
what is the difference between treating an organ in the brain or the lungs or the heart ? 
nothing is different . 
the fact of the matter is in our schools we ought to be looking at this . 
we have more people committing suicide , 10 young people a day . 
more youth die from suicide each year than from cancer , heart disease , aids , birth defects , stroke , pneumonia , influenza , and chronic lung disease combined . 
all of them combined do not rank as high as the cost of suicide to our young people . 
mr. chairman , in the next year we are going to lose 1 , 400 young people in our colleges and universities because of suicide . 
we have twice the rate of homicide as our suicide rate . 
for every homicide in this country , there are two suicides . 
the problem here is not overtreatment , it is undertreatment . 
that is why i think the paul amendment , unfortunately , continues to ascribe to the stereotypes of the past that mental illnesses are not real illnesses and therefore they should not be treated and taken care of . 
that is why i would ask my colleagues to please vote against the discrimination , the intolerance , the stigma of the paul amendment . 
