[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 27, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S248-S249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IMPROVING THE FEDERAL RESPONSE TO CHALLENGES IN MENTAL HEALTH CARE IN
AMERICA
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of
my remarks to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Improving the Federal Response to Challenges in Mental Health Care in
America
Before we begin today's hearing, I want to briefly mention
for the information of committee members one of the next
items on the committee's agenda, and that's biomedical
innovation. I was glad to announce yesterday our committee's
plans to hold its first markup on Feb. 9 to consider the
first set of bipartisan bills aimed at spurring biomedical
innovation for American patients. Senators and staff on our
committee have been working throughout 2015 to produce a
number of bipartisan pieces of legislation that are ready for
the full committee to consider.
The House has completed its work with its 21st Century
Cures Act. The president announced his support for a
precision medicine initiative and a cancer ``moonshot.'' It
is urgent that the Senate finish its work and turn into law
these ideas that will help virtually every American.
The committee has also been working for months on
legislation to help achieve interoperability of electronic
health records for doctors, hospitals and their patients--and
the committee will be releasing a bipartisan staff draft of
that legislation later today for public comment.
This February markup will be the first of three committee
meetings that we have planned to debate and amend bills as
the committee moves forward on the bipartisan goal of
modernizing the Food and Drug Administration and the National
Institutes of Health to get safe, cutting-edge drugs and
devices to patients more quickly.
Last week, in his State of the Union address, the president
reiterated his support for a Precision Medicine Initiative
and announced the administration's cancer ``moonshot''
initiative--and I look forward to working with the president
and Vice President Biden.
In addition, this year the committee intends to be busy on
oversight of the Every Student Succeeds Act. A law that's not
implemented appropriately is not worth the paper it's printed
on, and we will plan a series of hearings this year to make
sure that it's implemented the way Congress wrote it and the
president signed it.
And, of course, we've done a great deal of work on
reauthorizing the Higher Education
[[Page S249]]
Act, which expired at the end of last year. We have a number
of bipartisan proposals that will make it easier and simpler
for students to attend college and for administrators to
operate our 6,000 colleges and universities.
But, another priority of the committee is legislation
dealing with the mental health crisis in America, which we
are discussing today.
The committee has done a great deal of work on this
subject. On September 30, 2015, this committee passed S.
1893, Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015,
introduced by Senator Murray and myself. This bill,
cosponsored by many members of the committee, reauthorizes
and improves programs administered by the Department of
Health and Human Services related to awareness, prevention,
and early identification of mental health conditions. The
Senate passed this important piece of legislation on December
18, 2015. Senators Cassidy and Murphy have introduced
legislation, and Sen. Murray and I have been working with
them. We hope to move promptly to bring recommendations
before the full committee.
Not everything the Senate may want to do is within the
jurisdiction of this committee. We're working with Sen.
Blunt, who is the chairman of the Senate's health
appropriations subcommittee, on ideas that he's proposed--as
well as with Sen. Cornyn on issues that the Judiciary
Committee is considering and the Senate Finance Committee,
which will also be involved.
Here is why there is such interest in the United States
Senate in the mental health crisis in America today: A 2014
national survey from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration found that about one in five adults
had a mental health condition in the past year, and 9.8
million adults had serious mental illness, such as
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or depression that
interferes with a major life activity.
However, nearly 60 percent of adults with mental illness
did not receive mental health services in 2014. Only about
half of adolescents with a mental health condition received
treatment for their mental health condition.
Mental health conditions that remain untreated can lead to
dropping out of school, substance abuse, incarceration,
unemployment, homelessness, and suicide. Suicide is the 10th
leading cause of death in the United States, and 90 percent
of those who die by suicide have an underlying mental
illness.
I hear from many Tennesseans about the challenges faced by
individuals and families living with mental illness. From
2010 to 2012, nearly 21 percent of adults in Tennessee
reported having a mental illness--that's more than a million
people--according to the Tennessee Department of Mental
Health and Substance Abuse Services. About 4 percent had a
serious mental illness--that's nearly a quarter of a million
Tennesseans.
According to a 2015 report from the Tennessee Suicide
Prevention Network, the most recent data available shows
Tennessee's rate of suicide reached its highest level in 5
years in 2013. Also in 2013, the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention reported that suicide was the second leading
cause of death for Tennesseans between the ages of 15 and 34.
Scott Ridgway, head of the Tennessee Suicide Prevention
Network, last year stated that suicide ``remains a major
public health threat in the state of Tennessee.''
At our October hearing on mental health, this committee
heard from administration witnesses about what the federal
government is already doing to address mental illness. Today,
I look forward to hearing from the doctors, nurses, advocates
and administrators who work every day with Americans who
struggle with a mental health condition about how the federal
government can help patients, health care providers,
communities, and states to better address mental health
issues.
One way is to ensure that the latest and most innovative
research findings get translated into practice and can change
the lives of individuals and families across the United
States. For example, at our earlier hearing, the National
Institute of Mental Health's then-director, Dr. Tom Insel,
discussed the Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia
Episode, or RAISE study. The study found that identifying and
treating psychosis early with a comprehensive, personalized
treatment plan can significantly improve an individual's
quality of life. Many states have begun implementing
treatment programs based on this model--and it was called a
``game changer'' by the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
I am interested to hear from our witnesses how the federal
government can support state efforts to implement innovative
and evidence-based treatment programs--as well as their
thoughts to help ensure that Washington is not getting in the
way.
Strengthening our mental health care system will require
modernizing the leading agency for mental health. It will
also require involvement from patients, families,
communities, health care providers, health departments, law
enforcement, state partners, and others.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses here today
about the challenges we face and the solutions they believe
are needed to address them head on.
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