Tribute to the Late Paul Wellstone

TRIBUTE TO THE LATE SENATOR PAUL WELLSTONE

Mr. REED. Madam President, I rise today to commemorate the life of Senator Paul Wellstone and to urge the Senate Republican leadership to pave the way for the expeditious passage of the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Parity Act.

Earlier this week, I joined a number of my colleagues in sending a letter to the majority leader, urging him to set aside other business yesterday so we could take up and pass this very important legislation. I regret that could not be accomplished yesterday.

This Saturday, October 25, marks the 1-year anniversary of the tragic death of our dear colleague, Paul Wellstone, his lovely wife Sheila, and six others: his daughter Marcia; Mary McEvoy of St. Paul, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Minnesota and also the associate chairwoman of the State Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party; Tom Lapic, of Eden Prairie-Tom was Senator Wellstone's deputy State director and long-time associate and aide, and William McLaughlin, a 23-year-old who was Senator Wellstone's personal assistant and driver.

All of these individuals were dedicated, passionate public servants who shared Paul Wellstone's vision, his dedication and commitment to a better America, a place where opportunity was the heritage of all. For anyone who had the honor to serve with Paul and to see him here, his image and his memory still linger in this Chamber. To see him passionately and fearlessly fight for people-and not the wealthiest, but poorest, those who needed an opportunity to move ahead-that image of him stays with me and stays with so many of my colleagues.

Many times we would not agree. Many times we would differ. But no one in this Chamber doubted his passion, his commitment, and his selfless dedication to this country. He challenged us. In fact, Paul probably challenged his colleagues more than any other Member.

He would speak here when it was inopportune and inconvenient for him, but he would do it because he felt a commitment and a need to speak, to give voice to those who were voiceless in this country.

He believed the Government had not only the obligation but also the ability to help people-not just to cradle them from birth through their lives but to give them opportunities and skills so they could use these skills to better themselves and better the Nation.

He was enthusiastic about helping people lift themselves out of poverty, about bringing justice to those who had been victimized, and hope to those who were desperate.

He cared about all the issues that are before us in the Senate. But one issue he cared so much about, for which he advocated so strenuously and which he articulated so passionately, was the fact that our mental health system needs additional improvement; that there is disparity between the treatment given to those with physical pain and treatments given to those individuals with mental anguish.

He also was passionate in denouncing the stigma we attach to mental illness too often in this country. He fought effectively, and his efforts culminated in 1996 with the original Mental Health Parity Act. It was thought that this historic bill that would put mental health services on the same level as physical health services by essentially telling insurers whatever you do in terms of physical health problems you must also do in terms of mental health problems. However, it was discovered after passage of the Act that insurance companies and others were able to find ways to circumvent the law, so additional efforts would be necessary.

He stood up, along with our colleague and our friend Senator PETE DOMENICI of New Mexico, to lead the fight to make the parity law of 1996 even better, more effective, and stronger.

Last summer it appeared we were on the verge of a breakthrough when President Bush indicated he supported this concept of a mental health parity standard. Yet we are still without effective action.

I was very pleased to join Senator Domenici, Senator Kennedy, and others to sign on to the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act in honor of our esteemed colleague. But today, despite having 66 cosponsors, this legislation has not been brought to the floor of the Senate. We are indeed seeing tremendous strains on our health care system, but this is one of the most critical problems. There are those who say it is going to cost too much if we address mental health parity seriously. My argument is the costs today are immense, and if we don't deal with these mental health issues, it will continue to grow.

In my State of Rhode Island, we have a very active community mental health system. I suggest we probably have saved dollars over the course of the last couple of decades. But we can't do this unless we have a commitment to parity between physical health issues and mental health issues.

The majority leader has indicated that his preference is to do this through the committee process. We have a markup scheduled for next Wednesday on health care issues. That would be the ideal opportunity to schedule the Paul Wellstone legislation and do our best to pass it. Working with the majority leader and the chairman of the HELP committee, I hope we can do that, or certainly at the earliest possible opportunity have committee action to take up the Paul Wellstone bill.

There is one other area which Senator Wellstone was passionate about. In fact, I can hear him now. His desk was right behind me. He would prowl up and down the corridor, and go as far as the cord would let him go. He would speak out. One issue on which he spoke so eloquently was the issue of funding education-the No Child Left Behind Act. He was one of the few dissenters. He said prophetically this might be a good plan, but without resources it wouldn't work. Ironically, today we struggle to get those resources. He would say, we can't reform education on a tin cup. Unfortunately, we still seem to be passing around that tin cup rather than funding education robustly as we must.

I hope we can move aggressively on the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Parity Act. I hope also we can find those resources to fund education and the No Child Left Behind Act. In doing that, we will pay tribute to a Senator who honored us and honored his country with his public service.

I yield the floor.