[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 13 (Thursday, February 5, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S599-S603]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
KEEPING ALIVE THE WORK AND SPIRIT OF PAUL WELLSTONE
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I would like to use a few minutes of my
leader time to talk about a remarkable new effort that is being
launched today to try to develop a broader national consensus about the
kind of future we want in America and how we can achieve it. It is
called the Wellstone Civic Dialog Project. It is being organized by
Wellstone Action, a progressive advocacy organization created by Paul
and Sheila Wellstone's sons Mark and David to keep their parents' work
and spirit alive.
The first meetings will be held this evening. In what may be the
largest book group ever, thousands of ordinary Americans in 40 States
will meet in private homes, schools, churches, community centers,
bookstores, and hundreds of other places to discuss the direction and
the future of our Nation. Those attending the discussion are encouraged
to read a book Senator Wellstone wrote which was published the year
before he died. It is called ``The Conscience Of A Liberal.'' If the
title evokes memories of another book, it is deliberate.
In the introduction of his own book, Paul recalled the good-natured
ribbing some of his Republican colleagues gave him when he attended
Barry Goldwater's funeral service.
They gave me Goldwater's ``The Conscience of a
Conservative'' to read on the plane. ``Paul,'' they said,
``read this; we read this book at young ages and it set us on
the right path. We still have hope for you.''
Paul replied that he, too, had read Senator Goldwater's book at a
young age and explained: ``That's why I'm a liberal.''
``But,'' he said, ``I also told them that I admired Barry Goldwater
for his political integrity.''
More than almost anyone else I have ever known, Paul Wellstone had an
unshakable faith in the fundamental decency of most people and in the
genius of democracy. He believed if we
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faced our challenges squarely and listened respectfully to each other,
we would discover that most of us share the same values, the same
concerns, and the same dreams; that we would also discover the
solutions and strength to overcome almost any obstacle.
The Wellstone Civic Dialogue Project is an attempt to bring ordinary
Americans together to develop a consensus to move America in a more
humane, more progressive direction. It is what Paul called ``citizen
democracy.''
Groups will meet in more than 600 communities throughout America. In
a touch that I am sure Paul Wellstone and Barry Goldwater would have
appreciated greatly, in several of the groups self-declared Republicans
and Democrats have agreed to sit face to face and discuss their ideas
and values.
The first meetings, as I said, will take place this evening in more
than 600 communities throughout America. A topic for tonight's
discussion is ``Can we dream again?'' It is a reference to a quote by
Eleanor Roosevelt that Paul loved and preached often. The future will
belong to those ``who believe in the beauty of their dreams.''
It is expected that groups will meet as many as eight additional
times over the next several months to discuss issues ranging from
education and health care, to domestic violence, money and politics,
and the war in Iraq. Anyone interested in attending a Civic Dialog
Project discussion can go to the Wellstone Action Web site,
www.wellstone.org, to find a discussion group near them or to download
study guides for any of the discussion topics.
If there isn't a group in your neighborhood, you might want to
consider starting one. The Wellstone Action group has trained hundreds
of volunteer facilitators to help people set up and run discussion
groups in their own communities.
Before Paul came to the Senate, he was a political science professor.
But there was nothing the slightest bit academic or abstract about his
politics. He used to say: ``People yearn for a `politics of the
center'--not the `center' so widely discussed by politicians and
pundits in Washington but, rather, a politics that speaks to the center
of people's lives: affordable child care, good education for children,
health security, living-wage jobs that will support families, respect
for the environment and human rights, and clean elections and clean
campaigns.
You can see that yearning today in the record turnouts in
Presidential caucuses in primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, and so many
other States. Instead of questioning each other's character and motives
and patriotism, people want politicians to talk honestly about the
concerns at the center of people's everyday lives.
One of the concerns is the refusal by some insurers to provide fair
and equitable treatment for people with mental illness. Nothing made
Paul angrier nor offended him more deeply than the stigma attached to
mental illness and the discrimination and suffering that people with
mental health problems suffer as a result of that stigma. He thought it
was cruel that people with mental health problems often received lesser
care than those with physical health problems. He was outraged by the
terrible toll such discrimination often takes on people with mental
illness and their families. He and Senator Domenici introduced a bill--
now called the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act--to
end such discrimination. The bill was reintroduced at the beginning of
this Congress, but it has been stalled in committee for more than a
year now because of opposition from the insurance industry and its
allies.
Last October, on the first anniversary of the plane crash that killed
Paul and Sheila, their daughter Marcia, and four others, I asked
unanimous consent that the Senate take up and pass the Wellstone Mental
Health and Treatment Act. It would have been the perfect tribute to
Paul.
The Republican leadership blocked that request. But they gave us
their word that the Senate will consider the Wellstone mental health
bill early this year. I am here to say, very clearly, that Democrats
intend to hold them to that promise.
Like tens of millions of Americans, Paul Wellstone knew well the
anguish that mental illness can cause families.
Nearly 50 years ago, when his older brother Stephen was a freshman in
college, he suffered a severe mental breakdown. Stephen Wellstone spent
the next 2 years in mental hospitals. Eventually, he recovered and
graduated from college--with honors--in 3 years. But it took his
immigrant parents 20 years to pay off the bill from those 2 years.
In his book, Paul recalled the years that Stephen was hospitalized.
``For two years,'' he wrote, ``the house always seemed dark to me--even
when the lights were on. It was such a sad home.''
Fifty years later, there are still far too many sad homes in America;
there are still far too many families that are being devastated by the
physical and financial consequences of mental health problems. In many
cases, they have health insurance. But their insurance companies refuse
to pay for the mental health care they or their loved ones need.
I hear from such families every week.
Three days ago, a woman from Sioux Falls called my office. She is
about 50. She and her husband have two children, and they have health
insurance through his job. Years ago, she suffered one of the most
agonizing losses a person can endure: Her 3-year-old daughter died from
spinal meningitis.
She now suffers from chronic depression, which she manages with the
help of medication and therapy.
Recently, the cost of her medication jumped from $100 a month to $500
a month, and her insurance company informed her that she has now hit
their lifetime cap on mental health benefits, so they will no longer
pay anything for her medications or her therapy.
So she and her husband now face a choice: pay the entire cost of her
prescriptions and her therapy each month, out of pocket, or pay their
mortgage.
She was fighting back tears when she called my office. She said, ``If
I had a heart ailment, they wouldn't think twice about sending me to a
cardiologist. But there's such a stigma associated with mental
health.''
She added, ``This isn't something I've chosen any more than people
who suffer from diabetes or heart disease chose their conditions.''
What makes her story even more terrible is how many other people in
this country are having to fight the same fight, and make the same
awful choices. No family is untouched by mental health problems. Fifty-
four million Americans suffer from some form of mental illness. They
include Republicans, Democrats, and people who don't care at all about
party labels.
Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici were about as far apart politically
as two people could be. But they shared a common bond: They both had
people in their families, who they loved, who were affected by mental
illness. They were unlikely but great allies.
In 1996, thanks in large part to their leadership, Congress passed
the Mental Health Parity Act. It says that group health plans sponsored
by employers with 50 or more workers cannot place annual or lifetime
dollars limits on mental health benefits that are more restrictive than
their limits for physical health care.
It was an important step forward. But discrimination persists; we
know that. Some insurers openly disregard the law. Some have found new
ways to restrict mental health benefits. The results can be
devastating: unemployment, broken homes, shattered lives, poverty, poor
school performance--even suicide.
The Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act does not
force employers to offer mental health coverage. It simply says that if
employers offer mental health benefits, insurers cannot provide more
restrictive coverage for mental health benefits than they do for other
medical and surgical benefits.
Some insurers already meet this basic fairness standard. They are to
be commended for doing the right thing. But others will not do the
right thing unless they are required by law to do so. So Congress needs
to act.
The insurance industry claims--incorrectly--that requiring insurers
to treat mental illness the same way they treat physical illness will
drive premiums up so high that more people will lose their health
insurance. Their claims are not true. They are simply scare tactics;
we've heard them before.
[[Page S601]]
The truth is, two highly respected organizations have analyzed the
Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act. The private
accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts the bill would
increase health insurance premiums by one percent. One percent. That
works out to $1.32 per month. The Congressional Budget Office predicts
an even smaller average increase: nine-tenths of 1 percent. I think
most families would consider that was a very good deal.
Senators Domenici and Wellstone modeled their bill on the mental
health parity provisions on the Federal Employee Health Benefits
Program. For 3 years, Senators and the other 8.5 million members of
that program have had the protection of genuine mental health parity.
According to the Office of Personnel Management, it has increased
premiums only 1.3 percent. And that includes parity for substance abuse
services, which are not included in the Wellstone mental health bill.
Nearly 2 years ago, President Bush said, ``Our country must make a
commitment: Americans with mental illness deserve our understanding and
they deserve excellent care. They deserve a health care system that
treats their illness with the same urgency as physical illness.'' We
urge the President to back up his words with leadership.
The Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act is
cosponsored by 68 Senators--more than two-thirds of this Senate. It is
also supported by more than 360 national organizations--90 of which
have added their support just since October.
Groups endorsing the Wellstone bill include the American Academy of
Pediatrics, the Alzheimer's Association, the National PTA, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Catholic Charities, the
National Association of Counties, the American Medical Association, the
American Nurses Association, the American Association of Pastoral
Counselors, the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, the National
Rural Health Association, the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol
Syndrome, and many other groups.
I ask unanimous consent that the complete list be inserted at the
close of my remarks in the Congressional Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(See exhibit 1.)
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, nearly 50 years after mental illness
brought such sadness and financial strain to Paul Wellstone, doctors
and scientists have made great strides in understanding and treating
many mental health problems. But those advances mean little to those
who cannot afford them.
In South Dakota and throughout America, there are still too many
homes that seem dark even when the lights are on. There are too many
people who are being denied essential mental health care because of
arbitrary decisions by insurance companies putting profits ahead of
people.
The Wellstone bill can change that. We have a commitment from the
Majority Leader that the Senate will deal with this issue early this
year. We are determined to see that that happens.
I yield the floor.
Exhibit 1
361 organizations supporting the paul wellstone mental health equitable
treatment act (domenici/kennedy (s. 486) and kennedy/ramstad (h.r.
953)), january 29, 2004
Advocates for Youth
Alaska State Medical Association
Alliance for Aging Research
Alliance for Children and Families
Alliance For Mental Health Consumers Rights
Alzheimer's Association
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Neurology
American Academy of Ophthalmology
American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
American Academy of Physician Assistants
American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
American Association For Marriage and Family Therapy
American Association for Psychological Rehabilitation
American Association for Thoracic Surgery
American Association of Children's Residential Centers
American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
American Association of Pastoral Counselors
American Association of Practicing Psychiatrists
American Association of School Administrators
American Association of Suicidology
American Association on Mental Retardation
American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work
American College of Cardiology
American College of Chest Physicians
American College of Emergency Physicians
American College of Medical Genetics
American College of Mental Health Administration
American College of Nurse-Midwives
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians
American College of Osteopathic Surgeons
American College of Physicians
American College of Preventive Medicine
American College of Radiology Association
American College of Surgeons
American Congress of Community Supports and Employment
Services (ACCSES)
American Counseling Association
American Diabetes Association
American Family Foundation
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
American Federation of Teachers
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
American Gastroenterological Association
American Geriatrics Society
American Group Psychotherapy Association
American Heart Association
American Hospice Foundation
American Hospital Association
American Humane Association
American Jail Association
American Managed Behavioral Healthcare Association (AMBHA)
American Medical Association
American Medical Directors Association
American Medical Group Association
American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association
American Medical Student Association
American Mental Health Counselors Association
American Music Therapy Association
American Network of Community Options and Resources
American Nurses Association
American Occupational Therapy Association
American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society
American Orthopsychiatric Association
American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics
American Osteopathic Association
American Pediatric Society
American Political Science Association
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Nurses Association
American Psychoanalytic Association
American Psychological Association
American Psychotherapy Association
American Public Health Association
American School Counselor Association
American School Health Association
American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry
American Society for Clinical Pathology
American Society of Addiction Medicine
American Society of Anesthesiologists
American Society of Clinical Oncology
American Society of Clinical Pharmacology
American Society of Plastic Surgeons
American Therapeutic Recreation Association
American Thoracic Society
America's HealthTogether
Anna Westin Foundation
Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc.
Anxiety Disorders Association of America
Arizona Medical Association
Arkansas Medical Society
Association for the Advancement of Psychology
Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare
Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc.
Association for Science in Autism Treatment
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations
Association of Jewish Aging Services of North America
Association of Jewish Family & Children's Agencies
Association of Material and Child Health Programs
Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs
Association of Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Surgeons
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Association to Benefit Children
Attention Deficit Disorders Association
Austism Society of America
Barbara Schneider Foundation
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Brain Injury Association of America, Inc.
California Medical Association
Camp Fire USA
The Carter Center
Catholic Charities USA
[[Page S602]]
Center for the Advancement of Health
Center for Women Policy Studies
Center for Disability and Health
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
Central Conference of American Rabbis
Chicago Public Schools
Child & Adolescent Bipolar Foundation
Child Neurology Society
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder
Children's Defense Fund
Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty
Children's Hospital Boston
Child Welfare League of America
Crhistopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation
Church of the Brethren Washington Office
Clinical Social Work Federation
Coalition for Juvenile Justice
College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists
Colorado Medical Society
Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism
Connecticut State Medical Society
Corporation for the Advancement of Psychiatry
Council for Exceptional Children
Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation
Council on Social Work Education
County of Santa Clara, CA
Cure Autism Now
Dads and Daughters
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc.
Disability Service Providers of America
Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD) of the Council for
Exceptional Children
Easter Seals
Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy & Action
Employee Assistance Professionals Association
Epilepsy Foundation
Families For Depression Awareness
Families USA
Family Violence Prevention Fund
Family Voices
Federation of American Hospitals
Federation of Behavioral, Psychological & Cognitive Sciences
Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health
Florida Medical Association
Freedom From Fear
Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quaker)
Harvard Eating Disorders Center
Hawaii Medical Association
Human Rights Campaign
Idaho Medical Association
Illinois State Medical Society
Inclusion Research Institute
Indiana State Medical Association
Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research
International Association of Jewish Vocational Services
International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation
Services
International Community Corrections Association
International Dyslexia Association
International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses
International Spinal Injection Society
Iowa Medical Society
Iris Alliance Fund
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago
Johnson Institute
Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
Kentucky Medical Association
Kids Project
Kristen Watt Foundation for Eating Disorder Awareness
Latino Behavioral Health Association
Learning Disabilities Association of America
Legal Action Center
Louisiana State Medical Society
Lutheran Ofc. for Governmental Affairs, Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America
Lutheran Services in America
Maine Medical Association
Massachusetts Medical Society
MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society
Medical Association of Georgia
Medical Association of the State of Alabama
Medical Group Management Association
Medical Society of Delaware
Medical Society of the District of Columbia
Medical Society of New Jersey
Medical Society of the State of New York
Medical Society of Virginia
Medicare Rights Center
MentalHealth AMERICA, Inc.
Michigan State Medical Society
Minnesota Medical Association
Mississippi State Medical Association
Missouri State Medical Association
Montana Medical Association
NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Alliance for Autism Research
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Affective
Disorders
National Alliance to End Homelessness
National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health
Association
National Asian Women's Health Organization
National Assembly of Health and Human Services Organizations
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP)
National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics &
Prosthetics
National Association for Children's Behavioral Health
National Association for the Dually Diagnosed
National Association for Medical Direction of Respiratory
Care
National Association for Rural Mental Health
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated
Disorders--ANAD
National Association of Case Management
National Association of Children's Hospitals
National Association of Community Health Centers
National Association of Counties
National Association of County Behavioral Health Directors
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association of Developmental Disabilities Councils
National Association of Mental Health Planning & Advisory
Councils
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems
National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems
National Association of School Nurses
National Association of School Psychological
National Association of Social Workers
National Association of State Directors of Special Education
National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
National Center for Policy Research for Women & Families
National Center on Institutions and Alternatives
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
National Coalition for the Homeless
National Coalition of Mental Health Consumers and
Professionals
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of La Raza
National Council on the Aging
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
National Council on Family Relations
National Council on Problem Gambling
National Council on Suicide Prevention
National Down Syndrome Congress
National Down Syndrome Society
National Eating Disorders Association
National Educational Alliance for Borderline Personality
Disorder
National Education Association
National Exchange Club Foundation
National Foundation for Depressive Illness
National Health Council
National Health Law Program
National Hispanic Medical Association
National Hopeline Network
National Housing Conference
National Latino Behavioral Health Association
National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty
National Leadership on African American Behavioral Health
National League of Cities
National Medical Association
National Mental Health Association
National Mental Health Awareness Campaign
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
National Network for Youth
National Organization for Rare Disorders
National Organization of People of Color Against Suicide
National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
National Osteoporosis Foundation
National Partnership for Women and Families
National PTA
National Recreation and Park Association
National Rural Health Association
National Schizophrenia Foundation
National Senior Citizens Law Center
National Therapeutic Recreation Society
National Treatment and Research Advancements Association for
Personality Disorder
Native American Counseling, Inc.
Nebraska Medical Association
NETWORK, a Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Nevada State Medical Association
New Hampshire Medical Society
New Mexico Medical Society
NISH (National Industries for the Severely Handicapped)
Northamerican Association of Masters in Psychology
North Carolina Medical Society
North Dakota Medical Association
Obsessive Compulsive Foundation
Office & Professional Employees International Union
Ohio State Medical Association
Oklahoma State Medical Association
Older Adult Consumer Mental Health Alliance
Oregon Medical Association
Organization of Student Social Workers
Partnership for Recovery
People For the American Way
Pennsylvania Medical Society
Presbyterian Church (USA), Washington Office
Prevent Child Abuse America
Rebecca Project for Human Rights
Renfrew Center Foundation
Rhode Island Medical Society
Samaritans Suicide Prevention Center
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School Social Work Association of America
Service Employees International Union
Shaken Baby Alliance
Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation
Society for Adolescent Medicine
Society for Pediatric Research
Society for Personality Assessment
Society for Public Health Education
Society for Research on Child Development
Society for Social Work Research
Society for Women's Health Research
Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons
Society of Medical Consultants to Armed Forces
Society of Professors of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Society of Thoracic Surgeons
South Carolina Medical Association
South Dakota State Medical Association
STOP IT NOW!
Suicide Awareness Voice of Education
Suicide Prevention Action Network USA
Tennessee Medical Association
Texas Medical Association
The Arc of the United States
Title II Community AIDS National Network
Tourette Syndrome Association
Treatment and Research Advancements Association of
Personality Disorder
Union of American Hebrew Congregations
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
United Cerebral Palsy Association
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministry
United Jewish Communities
United Methodist General Board of Church and Society
Utah Medical Association
Vermont Medical Society
Volunteers of America
Washington State Medical Association
Wellstone Action
West Virginia State Medical Association
Wisconsin Medical Society
Working Assets
Women of Reform Judaism
Wyoming Medical Society
Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program
Youth Law Center
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