S.Res. 714

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 714 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 714

Supporting the designation of May 10, 2026, as ``National Asian 
American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Mental Health Day''.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

April 30, 2026

Ms. Hirono (for herself, Mr. Booker, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Markey, Mr. 
Padilla, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Schatz, and Ms. Warren) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION

Supporting the designation of May 10, 2026, as ``National Asian 
American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Mental Health Day''.

Whereas the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (referred to 
in this preamble as ``AANHPI'') community is among the fastest growing 
population groups in the United States and has made significant 
economic, cultural, and social contributions;
Whereas the AANHPI community is extremely diverse in terms of socioeconomic 
background, education level, types of employment, languages spoken, 
cultures of origin, acculturation, and migration and colonization 
status;
Whereas the AANHPI community is facing an affordability crisis, particularly 
related to healthcare, to the point where 56 percent of AANHPI adults 
said that the cost of healthcare was the most difficult item in their 
life to afford;
Whereas AANHPIs have among the lowest rates of utilization of mental health 
services, and 65.3 percent of the estimated 2,600,000 AANHPIs who meet 
criteria for a mental health problem do not receive treatment;
Whereas, from 2018 to 2024, AANHPI youth ages 15 to 24 years old in the United 
States were the only racial or ethnic population in this age category 
whose leading cause of death was suicide;
Whereas it is imperative to disaggregate AANHPI population data to get an 
accurate representation of the depth and breadth of the mental health 
issues for each subpopulation, so that specific culturally and 
linguistically appropriate solutions can be developed;
Whereas language access continues to be a critical issue, whether due to the 
limited number of providers with the necessary language skills to 
provide in-language services or the significant language loss faced by 
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities due to colonization;
Whereas there is a need to significantly increase the number of providers, 
including paraprofessionals, representing AANHPI communities and provide 
them with the necessary training and ongoing support;
Whereas historical discrimination and current racial violence toward AANHPIs 
increase trauma and stress, underlying precursors to mental health 
problems;
Whereas there is a critical need to raise awareness about and improve mental 
health literacy among the AANHPI community to reduce the stigma 
associated with mental health issues; and
Whereas May is both National Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific 
Islander Heritage Month, an opportunity to celebrate the vast 
contributions of this population to the society of the United States, 
and National Mental Health Awareness Month, recognizing the importance 
of mental health to the well-being and health of families and 
communities, and connecting the importance of one's cultural heritage to 
good mental health: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) supports the designation of May 10, 2026, as ``National 
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Mental 
Health Day'';
(2) recognizes the importance of mental health to the well-
being and health of families and communities;
(3) acknowledges the importance of raising awareness about 
mental health and improving the quality of care for Asian 
American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities;
(4) recognizes that celebrating one's cultural and 
linguistic heritage is beneficial to mental health; and
(5) encourages Federal, State, and local health agencies to 
adopt laws, policies, and guidance to improve help-seeking 
rates for mental health services for the Asian American, Native 
Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community and other communities 
of color.
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