Representatives Grace Napolitano (D-CA) and John Katko (R-NY), co-chairs of the Congressional Mental Health Caucus, are leading a letter to the leadership of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. The letter asks Senate HELP Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC) to hold a committee vote on and pass several pieces of legislation adopted by the House in May 2021. These include many longstanding APA priorities, such as the Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act (S. 1795/H.R. 1475) and the Mental Health Services for Students Act (S. 1841/H.R. 721).
On January 18, 2022, APA staff conveyed interest to Napolitano and Katko staff to be identified as a “supporting organization” on their letter. APA also signed onto a similar letter led by the Mental Health Liaison Group (MHLG) (PDF, 200KB) in July 2021, and led MHLG’s efforts to support many of the bills listed in the letter, such as the Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act (PDF, 170KB) (S. 1795/H.R. 1475). Both the Senate HELP and Finance committees are working on a package of mental health legislation, although the exact details of such legislation and the timeframe for their introduction, remain unclear as of this writing.
For more information, contact: Andrew Strickland, JD, or Kenneth Polishchuk.