107th Congress Leaves Unfinished Business
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(December 18, 2002) — When the 107th Congress adjourned,
it left plenty of work for lawmakers to wrestle with next year. The
shortened lame duck session delayed important work on big issues
such as welfare reauthorization and government funding for mental
health services. These will be added to an already crowded
congressional calendar that also includes reauthorization of several
programs important to people with mental illnesses.
During the last two years, Congress missed several opportunities
to enact key mental health legislation. Hoping to improve that
record in the 108th Congress, mental health advocates will continue
to press for enactment of mental health parity legislation,
increases for community-based mental health services and other
important measures affecting mental health consumers.
Funding for Mental Health Services
Unresolved
Congress delayed action until the new year on fiscal 2003 funding
for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s
(SAMHSA) mental health programs. Before adjourning, lawmakers
approved a continuing resolution that will keep government programs
operating at last fiscal year’s levels until January 11, 2003.
The extension leaves unresolved the fate of a number of important
programs, including the mental health block grant and children’s
mental health services.
Funding for consumer technical assistance programs was eliminated
in the President’s FY 2003 budget, but Congress’ failure to act on
appropriations offered the programs a reprieve until January. It is
unclear what the newly Republican-controlled Senate will do, but
earlier this year an appropriations committee restored funds to the
consumer-run assistance centers.
The Senate committee also restored community-action grants that
had been cut under President Bush’s budget request. The committee
provided a $10 million increase above the President’s budget request
for the post-traumatic stress disorders program, $5 million for
SAMHSA’s jail diversion program and a $7 million increase for
projects for assistance in transition from homelessness (PATH).
In both the Administration’s budget request and that of the
Senate appropriations committee, the mental health block grant and
children’s program — which provides important public-sector funding
for mental health services — were funded at last year’s levels.
Appropriations will likely be among the first items lawmakers
take up when they reconvene January 7. The Congress, facing tight
budget constraints for fiscal year 2003, will be under pressure to
quickly resolve FY 2003 spending bills and funding for many social
programs may be at risk.
The Interim Report of the President’s Commission on Mental
Health, released in late October, documents the growing crisis in
public mental health systems. Advocates must be prepared to speak
out in support of funding increases to address this crisis.
What You Can Do
Call your Senators and Representative
and ask them to support adequate funding for SAMHSA mental health
programs, including full restoration of funding to consumer-run
assistance centers.
Gun Bill Stalls, May Resurface
A bill that had raised serious concerns about discrimination
against people with mental illnesses stalled during the final days
of the 107th Congress. Advocates fear that the overly broad
definitions used in the law and its lack of privacy protections
could lead to violations of the rights of people with mental
disabilities.
The Our Lady of Peace Act (H.R. 4757, S. 2826),
authored by Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Senator
Charles Schumer (D-NY) sought to tighten the National Instant
Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to prevent certain
individuals from purchasing a gun by requiring states to submit
records to the NICS of “prohibited persons.” Under federal law,
individuals who are deemed “mentally defective” are prohibited from
purchasing a gun. The new law would encourage states to create lists
of these prohibited individuals, which includes individuals who have
needed involuntary mental health treatment or who have difficulty
managing their own affairs due to a mental illness.
Mental health advocates fear that reinforcing the use of such
broad, stigmatizing definitions of “mentally defective” would erode
the rights of people with mental illnesses and promote the idea that
violence and mental illness are invariably linked—a notion disproved
by studies showing that people with mental illnesses are no more
violent than others. Since there would be no automatic purging of
the NICS list after a set period of time, names could remain on the
list of “mentally defective” persons forever.
Advocates also worry that the bill’s lack of strong privacy
protections could encourage discrimination unrelated to gun
ownership. If information on use of mental health services in NICS
were shared, people with mental illnesses could face housing, credit
or employment discrimination.
The House passed its version of the bill in mid-October and
forwarded the legislation to the Senate for quick consideration, but
the Senate failed to consider the bill before adjourning. The
legislation may resurface next year. If so, the Bazelon Center and a
coalition of national mental health organizations will continue to
seek changes to the bill to better protect individuals with mental
illnesses.
What You Can Do
Call your Senators and Representative
and ask them to reject the overly broad definitions used to prohibit
gun ownership in the Our Lady of Peace Act and to strengthen privacy
protections in the bill so that information is not shared outside
the NICS system.
Mental Health Parity Fight Continues
Mental health parity supporters were again disappointed when
Congress failed to enact The Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act
before adjourning (S. 543, H.R. 4066). The bill would have expanded
the limited 1996 mental health parity law to prohibit financial and
treatment limits on mental health benefits. Despite a pledge of
support from President Bush to improve mental health parity,
Congress only managed to extend the existing law until December 31,
2003.
Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) has vowed to continue the fight to
improve parity between mental health and medical/surgical care in
the next Congress, announcing that he plans to introduce The Paul
Wellstone Memorial Mental Health Parity Act early in 2003. The
bill’s title honors the memory of the Minnesota Senator who, until
his death in October, was one of the Senate’s most passionate
supporters of mental health parity.
What You Can Do
Call your Senators and Representative
and ask them to support quick action on The Paul Wellstone Memorial
Mental Health Parity Act.
Welfare Law Extended Without Rewrite
Lawmakers temporarily shelved plans to rewrite the 1996 law that
overhauled the country’s welfare system and authorized the Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, instead extending the
law until early next year.
TANF’s importance to people with disabilities was highlighted in
a recent report by the General Accounting Office (GAO) that also
underscored the challenges faced by many recipients. The GAO report
found that:
- TANF families with disabilities (physical or mental) were half
as likely to leave the rolls as recipients without disabilities.
- TANF families caring for children with disabilities were less
than half as likely to leave the TANF rolls as recipients not
caring for children with disabilities.
- TANF families with disabilities who left the rolls were one
third as likely as people without disabilities to be employed and
more likely to receive federal supports. Forty percent reported
receiving SSI.
- TANF families with disabilities who left the rolls were also
more likely to receive non-cash support in the form of food stamps
and Medicaid than those without disabilities.
Earlier this year, the House passed legislation mirroring a Bush
Administration proposal to increase work requirements and decrease
state flexibility in providing the services and supports, such as
substance abuse and mental health services, needed for TANF
recipients to transition into work and self-sufficiency.
In August, the Senate Finance Committee approved a bill that
would have been significantly less problematic for TANF recipients
with disabilities. Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) offered an amendment
that would have allowed states to exempt families who are caring for
a child or adult family member with a disability from work
requirements.
Lawmakers may opt to extend the 1996 law again before considering
changes to the TANF program. With the midterm elections delivering a
Congress that is more agreeable to the Administration’s positions,
mental health advocates must continue to stress to lawmakers the
importance of support services to the program’s recipients with
disabilities.
What You Can Do
Call your Senators and Representative
and ask them to support responsible welfare reform that acknowledges
the special challenges faced by people with mental illnesses,
promotes access to needed services and supports in the community and
protects state flexibility on work requirements.
No Action on Family Opportunity Act
Once again, Congress failed to enact the Family Opportunity Act
(S. 321, H.R. 600) this year. The bipartisan proposal would provide
access to necessary health and mental health care for children with
severe disabilities through an extension of the Medicaid
program.
Earlier this year, the Senate Finance Committee approved a
modified version of the bill for the first time in three years, but
resistence to Medicaid expansion by key House leaders proved an
insurmountable barrier. The bill may get a lift in the next Congress
because sponsor Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) returns to the
chairmanship of the Senate Finance Committee when Congress
reconvenes.
What You Can Do
Call your Senators and Representative
and ask them to support the Family Opportunity Act and work to
expand access to child mental health services.
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