[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 148 (Friday, November 15, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11222-S11223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 MENTAL HEALTH EQUITABLE TREATMENT ACT

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed 
to H.R. 5716, which is now at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 5716) to amend the Employee Retirement Income 
     Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to 
     extend the mental health benefits parity provisions for an 
     additional year, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
read three times, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, and that any statements in relation thereto be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 5716) was read the third time and passed.
  (At the request of Mr. Daschle, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)
 Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, we have passed tonight a bill to 
extend for one year the current provisions of the 1986 Mental Health 
Equitable Treatment Act which provides limited parity for insurance 
coverage of mental illness.
  But today is not a day to celebrate. Instead, it is a call to arms--a 
call to pass the full and meaningful mental health parity bill that 
Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici have fought for so tirelessly. It is a 
day to sound the battle cry for finally ensuring that no American is 
discriminated against because they suffer from a mental illness.
  Mental illness is a pervasive problem in our society, and too often 
it is a problem that is swept under the rug

[[Page S11223]]

with an immense human cost. One out of five Americans will suffer from 
some form of mental illness this year--but only one-third of them will 
receive treatment.
  The fight against discrimination is not new--it is as old as the 
Republic and as fresh as today's headlines. All Americans deserve 
equality of opportunity and fundamental fairness.
  Next year this fight begins anew. All of us are saddened that Paul 
Wellstone is no longer with us to carry on this fight. But we intend to 
honor his memory and continue to fight for the cause for which he 
worked so hard. We will not rest until we enact legislation that ends 
the cruel discrimination that burdens so many Americans suffering from 
mental illness.

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