WASHINGTON, DC - The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, chaired by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), today held a hearing to examine the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, authored by Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX). Subcommittee members also discussed the Including Families in Mental Health Recovery Act of 2015, authored by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA). The legislative review continues the committee’s multi-year effort to strengthen the federal mental health system and help provide for better care for patients.
“With more than 11 million Americans who suffer with severe mental illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression, many are going without treatment and often families struggle to find appropriate care for their loved ones," said Pitts. “Since there is a patchwork of different programs and sometimes ineffective policies across numerous agencies, it is important for this committee to examine ways to fix the broken mental health system by focusing and coordinating programs and resources on psychiatric care for patients and families most in need of services."
Full committee chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) added, “Every community has been impacted in some fashion. To our community leaders on the frontlines, folks like Jeff Patton who runs the Kalamazoo Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services - we say thank you. And to those families who have been impacted by mental illness in some form - Congress is aware, yes we are, of your plight and we can, we must, and we will do much better."
Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds and former Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) shared stories from their own families’ struggles with mental illness and offered suggestions for what Congress can do to improve our nation’s system for caring with those in need.
“Tragedies happen every day that involve someone in a mental health crisis. Most do not make the news. I’ve heard so many - and those stories serve to guide me in my review of the mental health system in Virginia. The heartbreak is unbearable. I hear these stories all of the time. People reach out to me for help every day. And the sad truth is that in many ways there is little I can do to help. The system is not set up in a way that encourages advocacy," said Deeds. “Government was not envisioned to work quickly. And we are geared toward incremental policy changes. But I am telling you, the time for action is now. Families are struggling. People are dying. Families are grieving."
“The state of mental health in our nation is one of great possibility. To tackle the challenges ahead of us, we must all roll up our sleeves and do our part. Federal action is key, and the individuals and families impacted by mental illness and addiction in this country cannot afford to wait any longer. I am pleased to see Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate working diligently to seize this moment," added Kennedy.
Murphy concluded the hearing thanking the witnesses for their hard work on these issues and discussing how truly bipartisan this effort is. He said, “For all those we have lost this year and lost in other years, let’s not make their lives lost a lost cause. Let’s join together and recognize we have to make sure the disappearance of their lives shouldn’t be a disappearance of our passion and our dedication to this. We can make this happen."
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Read complete witness testimony and watch the full hearing online here.
