Issue Position: Mental Health, Opioids, & Treatment for Substance Use Disorder

Issue Position

Mental Health
We too often forget that those struggling with mental illness are constantly forced to fight a battle on two fronts. Not only do they have to grapple with themselves -- with their own thoughts and mind -- but they also have to contend with the negative assumptions made about those with mental illness, which are pervasive in our society.

Those stereotypes, though, are hardly a figment of their imagination. Public opinion suggests that people with mental illness and violent tendencies go hand in hand. In fact, at least half of the American public believes that individuals with mental illness are inherently more violent.

These claims are unfounded and they are completely unacceptable. Attitudes like this do nothing but aggravate the stigma that so many have spent decades trying to overcome.

Any progress we have made to change attitudes is incrementally undone every time there is an incident of mass violence in this country and politicians or pundits take to cable news to tout mental health reform as the solution.

The need for meaningful reforms that better serve the needs of patients and families experiencing mental illness is clear, but we cannot make unsubstantiated claims in order to scare the public into supporting reforms. That will only create a false sense of security, while ignoring the real issues and demonizing a community in the process.

Members on both sides of the aisle and passionate advocates across the country desperately want to see real improvements made to strengthen our mental health system. In response, we should put in place forward looking and inclusive policies that offer the necessary services, supports, and treatments to individuals so that recovery is an option. Likewise, we must build on the historic gains that the Affordable Care Act made for mental health coverage by expanding Medicaid and better enforcing our mental health parity laws. We also have to acknowledge that our current dysfunction stems in part from decades of broken promises and a chronic underinvestment in community based mental health services.

We are better than this. We need to make advancements on mental health issues in this country, but in so doing, we cannot advance a harmful and false understanding of these disorders.

Opioids & Treatment for Substance Use Disorder
In 2018, nearly 70,000 Americans had their lives cut short due to drug and opioid overdoses. The Albany County coroner has stated that in Albany alone, we lose two people on average every week due to overdoses. My heart goes out to everyone that has lost a family member or friend. As if it is not hard enough, drug related deaths are spiking during COVID-19. This crisis on top of a global pandemic has caused us so much pain and suffering, which is a trend we simply must reverse.

During this time, the Trump administration has tried to cut Medicaid, which would remove life-saving treatment for 4 out of 10 Americans who rely on the program. Additionally, the President has cut funding to the Office of National Drug Control Policy by 95%. As Trump and his White House deprioritize the pain and suffering of millions of American families on this issue, we must redouble our efforts to bring relief to those affected by this epidemic.

That's why I have worked with both Republicans and Democrats as a leader of the Abuse, Treatment and Recovery Caucus to find bipartisan solutions to help those in need. I've pushed for $200 million in funding for mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is being linked to increased drug use and higher mortality rates. I've worked in a bipartisan way to improve access to addiction treatment, through my legislation HR 3925: Reducing Barriers to Substance Use Treatment Act.

The opioid crisis doesn't ask if you are a Republican or Democrat before it affects you or your family. Our solution must be equally bipartisan.

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