[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.

                          ____________________