OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Mental Health

Floor Speech

Date: Sept. 27, 2016
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Health and Health Care

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Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues in the Senate to act on mental health reform legislation. Back in July, the House passed H.R. 2646, Representative Murphy's bill, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, with strong bipartisan support; but the Senate has yet to take action on this vital piece of legislation.

There can be no more delay; our Nation has suffered the loss of over 70,000 lives as a result of mental illness, many of which could have been prevented with access to mental health treatment. Mental illness devastates our criminal justice system, our communities, and our families. We cannot arrest our way out of this problem.

Mr. Speaker, I urge our Senate colleagues to advance this bill so that we can intervene before more Americans lose their lives to this treatable disease.

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