On March 11, the Psychology Political Action Committee (PAC) honored McCaskill for her commitment and dedication as a supporter for maintaining the Affordable Care Act, including Medicaid expansion and consumer protections, at a reception and dinner held in Washington, D.C. McCaskill also is committed to combatting veteran homelessness, improving mental health care for veterans and National Guard members, and expanding access to community-based mental health services.
“We are fortunate to have Sen. McCaskill on our side and supporting valuable mental health legislation,” said Katherine C. Nordal, PhD, Psychology PAC chair and executive director for professional practice in the APA Practice Organization. “Her efforts helped pass the Affordable Care Act, as well as the Mental Health Parity and the Addiction Equity Act. Sen. McCaskill is fighting for our patients and the people of her state to ensure they have access too timely and necessary mental health care provided by psychologists.”
McCaskill is running for re-election to her Missouri U.S. senate seat. She has served as a public servant for Missouri since 1982, first in the Missouri State Legislature, then as the first woman elected Jackson County prosecutor, and as the Missouri state auditor. In 2006, McCaskill became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri. CNN listed her seat among the 10 U.S. Senate seats it considered most likely to flip in 2018.
Psychology PAC hosts a reception and dinner for a member of Congress up for re-election each year during the Practice Leadership Conference (PLC) organized by the Practice Organization and APA. The reception is open to all PLC attendees. The dinner is attended by psychology leaders who make a direct contribution to a federal candidate’s campaign. This year, 43 psychology leaders attended the dinner honoring McCaskill. Additionally, Psychology PAC raised more than $22,000 during PLC, 2018 held between March 10-13 in Washington, D.C.
Psychology PAC conducts legislative and political advocacy on behalf of the psychology profession. This bipartisan PAC advocates for practitioners and educators who are members of APA and the APA Practice Organization. Psychology PAC focuses on addressing practitioners' and educators’ concerns, such as reimbursement for psychological services, inappropriate barriers to psychologists’ scope of practice and funding for psychology education and training. Psychology PAC is dedicated to supporting candidates for the Senate and House who have demonstrated their commitment to psychology and psychologists. To learn more about Psychology PAC, visit the websiteopens in new window.
Practice Update is running a special Psychology PAC column for the 2018 mid-term election year exploring politics, money and psychology and the role of political action committees in advocating for psychologists. The column highlights members of Congress who are champions for psychology and mental health as well as psychologists who currently hold political office or are campaigning for seats in Congress.