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WASHINGTON— Today, the US House of Representatives passed comprehensive mental health reform legislation by a vote of 422 to 2. US Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), co-authors of the Mental Health Reform Act and members of the US Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, called on the Senate to immediately vote on their comprehensive, bipartisan Mental Health Reform Act. “The House took an important step today to expand treatment and prevention programs for the 44 million Americans battling mental illness,” said Cassidy and Murphy. “The bill voted on today isn’t perfect, but the fact that it passed overwhelmingly is proof that there is broad, bipartisan support for fixing our broken mental health system. We have been partners in this effort since day one, and with our Mental Health Reform Act ready for a vote, we urge Senate leaders to take action and make this issue a priority before the 114th Congress comes to an end.” The bipartisan Mental Health Reform Act will expand resources and improve coordination for mental health and substance abuse treatment programs. After holding more than a dozen roundtables with mental health professionals, policy experts, consumers, and family members, Murphy and Cassidy introduced the bill with US Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and US Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA). The bill, which would address the country’s mental health crisis and help ensure Americans suffering from mental illness and substance use disorders receive the care they need, passed the Senate HELP Committee earlier this year.
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