[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 173 (Tuesday, December 1, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H8655]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 POSITIVE IMPROVEMENTS TO MENTAL HEALTH

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, millions of Americans 
across the country know the benefits of evidence-driven mental health 
care; yet, our national mental health system has been harmed after 
years of bad policy.
  Yesterday The Wall Street Journal stated, ``As it happens, this month 
a House subcommittee passed one of the more consequential bills of this 
Republican majority--the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act. 
Recent mass killers have nearly all had some kind of mental illness; 
yet, few receive proper treatment. Representative Tim Murphy spent more 
than a year investigating dysfunction and writing an overhaul.''
  I am grateful to be a cosponsor of the Helping Families in Mental 
Health Crisis Act developed by a dedicated professional, Tim Murphy. 
This legislation helps States to modernize involuntary commitment laws 
and encourages assisted outpatient treatment for patients to remain 
active in their communities.
  This legislation determines funding based on evidence-based care, 
putting critical resources into programs we know work, not into vague 
or untested theories. As the former president of the Mid-Carolina 
Mental Health Association myself, I appreciate this reform.
  In conclusion, God bless our troops. May the President by his actions 
never forget September the 11th in the global war on terrorism.

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