Providing for Consideration of H.R. 1424, Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007

Floor Speech

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Ms. MATSUI. I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin today by thanking my colleagues, Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Ramstad. Their advocacy on this issue has been truly remarkable.

We held a field hearing in my district last year on mental health. It provided my constituents with a forum for important dialogue about an issue that affects millions of Americans.

Mr. Speaker, anyone who has had a family member with a mental illness knows how difficult living with the disease can be for everyone involved. They also know one thing above all else: physical illness and mental illness are equally painful and equally challenging. In many ways, mental health patients suffer more because our insurance system discriminates against them. That is why this legislation is so important, because it is about people, people who struggle with mental illness every day and every night, people who suffer in silence without a doctor's help because their insurance will not cover mental health or addiction treatments.

This House has the chance to demonstrate its compassion and commitment to these people, Mr. Speaker. With one vote, we can put behind us the false conception that mental illness is not as serious as cancer or diabetes or many other diseases covered by health insurance plans.

On the contrary, mental illnesses are some of the most serious health conditions we face. The battle against them has been enormously difficult for millions of families across our Nation.

It has been tough, but this is a battle that we must win, Mr. Speaker. With mental health parity, it is a battle we can and will win.

Again, I thank Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Ramstad for their courageous commitment to this legislation.

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