[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 172 (Thursday, December 1, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H7069]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ADVANCES IN HEALTH

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the House overwhelmingly passed 
H.R. 34, the 21st Century Cures Act, a bill that offers help to 
millions of Americans whose needs have been pushed aside for far too 
long and marks the first step in helping improve our healthcare system, 
notably in mental health.
  I commend my Pennsylvania colleague, Congressman Tim Murphy, for his 
dedication and years of hard work on this issue. Back in my district in 
northern California, these failures have reached crisis levels of this 
system. In some areas, there are no psychiatric in-patient beds, 
leaving patients who are suffering to wait days, even weeks, to be 
seen. That could mean having to travel hundreds of miles for people who 
need care immediately. In other areas, there is virtually no access to 
psychiatric care, due to severe physician shortages.
  Law enforcement struggle while responding to crisis calls due to lack 
of training, which has, unfortunately, resulted in tragic outcomes that 
we see way too many times; as well as the opioid struggles, which is a 
big challenge for law enforcement and our prosecutors. Heroin really 
has had a great grip in rural areas like mine in northern California. 
Indeed, 1,100 overdoses in 8 years.
  This bill marks a significant historic, bipartisan effort to right 
what is wrong with our mental health system. It not only offers 
solutions, but it offers hope.
  I ask my colleagues in the Senate to please take quick action.

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