[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 130 (Saturday, August 5, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1649]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   INTRODUCTION OF THE SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH PERFORMANCE 
                        PARTNERSHIP ACT OF 1995

                                 ______


                          HON. JOHN D. DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 4, 1995
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, today, my colleague Mr. Waxman and I are 
introducing, at the request of the administration, the Substance Abuse 
and Mental Health Performance Partnership Act of 1995.
  The proposal involves a consolidation of categorical grants into two 
partnerships, one for mental health and one for substance abuse. The 
performance partnership grant establishes a new framework for 
cooperation between the Federal Government and the States. Instead of 
using an application process partnership grants would be based on a 
negotiated multi-year agreement between States and the secretary of 
HHS, which would define objectives and ways to achieve specific health 
outcomes.
  This proposal offers an alternative that avoids both the downsides of 
pure block grants--which were well documented in a February 1985 GAO 
study--and those of categorical grants, including multiple grant 
applications, spending restrictions and set-asides, and overlapping 
data requirements and reports. Grants such as those proposed in this 
bill could streamline or eliminate such requirements. Under this 
approach, States would have increased flexibility to set priorities and 
objectives and determine the means to address them.
  The administration is making a serious attempt to propose a system 
that avoids the pitfalls of pure block grants while reducing 
undesirable and burdensome aspects of some categorical grants. The 
proposal deserves consideration, as one approach to a decision about 
the best way to reauthorize certain important programs of the Substance 
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA].


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