June 06, 1999

Press Release | Contact: Kathie Eastman (202) 225-6416


WASHINGTON, DC—Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) participated today in the White House Conference on Mental Health, chaired by Tipper Gore, speaking at a panel on Community Responses to Youth At Risk. DeFazio discussed the importance of accessible mental health services for at-risk youth in youth violence prevention efforts.

Last year, following a school shooting in DeFazio's hometown of Springfield, Oregon, DeFazio met with community leaders, school teachers and families to discuss initiatives to reduce youth violence. At the Mental Health Conference, DeFazio will share anecdotes from his meetings with families unable to obtain adequate mental health services.

"Affordable, accessible mental health services are key to addressing the problems of troubled youth," DeFazio said. "Without expanding coverage for mental health care, families will continue being denied the basic support services they desperately need."

The White House Conference on Mental Health, held today at Howard University in Washington D.C., sought to shed light and understanding on issues surrounding mental illness and its affect on people of all ages. The Conference brought together consumers, providers, advocacy groups, business leaders, and elected officials to highlight new treatments and approaches to recovery and to dispel myths about mental illness.

DeFazio is a lead sponsor of legislation to provide better insurance coverage for mental illnesses. The legislation would require insurance companies to provide the same coverage for treatment of mental illness that they offer for other physical ailments. Currently, insurance companies do not offer adequate coverage for mental health treatment, making it effectively out of reach for many individuals because of the high cost. DeFazio championed similar legislation in 1996 that equalized lifetime and annual caps for mental illness to match those for physical health.

DeFazio's mental health parity bill is part of his package of legislation to prevent youth violence.

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