[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 192 (Tuesday, December 3, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6822]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         TRIBUTE TO MARK COVALL

  Mr. TOOMEY. Madam President, I rise to recognize Mr. Mark Covall, 
who, after 34 years with the National Association for Behavioral 
Healthcare, NABH, is retiring.
  For the past 24 years, Mark ably served as the president and CEO of 
the NABH, which was founded in 1933 to advocate for the interests of 
behavioral healthcare systems and providers that treat children, 
adolescents, adults, and senior citizens with mental health and 
substance use disorders. Under Mark's steadfast leadership, NABH helped 
to secure parity in mental and general healthcare services, paving the 
way for the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and 
Addiction Equity Act of 2008. More recently, Mark and NABH helped to 
ensure that Congress enacted the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery 
Act and 21st Century Cures Act in 2016 and the SUPPORT for Patients and 
Communities Act in 2018.
  Mark's leadership in coalition-building, as well as his work to 
develop strong relationships with behavioral healthcare providers, 
government officials, and associations such as the American Hospital 
Association, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Mental Health 
America, and the Kennedy Forum, explain why he has been as effective in 
influencing regulation as he has been in advancing legislation. I am 
told others in the behavioral health field would go to Mark for his 
insight, knowing he is one of the behavioral healthcare community's 
most well-informed and strongest advocates.
  Today, I join others in the mental health community in thanking Mark 
Covall for his decades of leadership, dedication, and passion for 
ensuring that millions of Americans have access to quality mental 
health and addiction treatment services.

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