[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 29, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5897-S5898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 726--HONORING ROSALYNN SMITH CARTER'S 50 YEARS OF 
                         MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY

  Mr. PERDUE (for himself, Mrs. Loeffler, and Mr. Murphy) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 726

       Whereas Rosalynn Smith Carter, since 1970, when her 
     husband, future President of the United States Jimmy Carter, 
     was a candidate for Governor of Georgia, has been a leading 
     advocate for raising awareness about mental health and the 
     ability of people with mental health disorders to recover and 
     live happy and fulfilling lives;
       Whereas Mrs. Carter emerged as a national driving force for 
     mental health when, during Jimmy Carter's presidential 
     administration, Mrs. Carter became the active honorary chair 
     of the President's Commission on Mental Health;
       Whereas the work of President Carter's Commission on Mental 
     Health resulted in passage of the Mental Health Systems Act 
     of 1980, which offered reforms to publicly-funded mental 
     health programs;
       Whereas, in 1982, President and Mrs. Carter founded The 
     Carter Center, which is dedicated to improving the quality of 
     life for people in the United States and in the developing 
     world through programs that promote peace and health;
       Whereas, from 1985 to 2016, Mrs. Carter hosted the annual 
     Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy, bringing 
     together national leaders in the mental health community to 
     discuss a specific topic each year, including promoting 
     access to appropriate and affordable behavioral health care 
     services, improving the quality of such services, and 
     reducing the stigma and isolation associated with mental 
     health disorders and substance use disorders;
       Whereas The Carter Center's Mental Health Program, 
     established in 1990 and continuing under the leadership and 
     guidance of Mrs. Carter, strives to build consensus in

[[Page S5898]]

     order to effect positive change in mental health and 
     substance use policy and systems, with a focus on vulnerable 
     populations, including children and the elderly;
       Whereas, in 1996, Mrs. Carter established the Rosalynn 
     Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, which have 
     provided training and support to more than 220 journalists in 
     the United States and abroad to report accurately and 
     sensitively about and reduce the stigma surrounding mental 
     health disorders, mental health care, mental health law and 
     policy, and related issues;
       Whereas Mrs. Carter, in 2008, played a key role in 
     supporting the passage of the Paul Wellstone and Pete 
     Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which 
     helps ensure that mental health disorders and substance use 
     disorders are covered by insurance at parity with other 
     illnesses;
       Whereas Mrs. Carter, who has long been a champion of the 
     physical and mental health, strength, and resilience of 
     family caregivers, established the Rosalynn Carter Institute 
     for Caregiving in 1987, where she continues to serve as 
     President of the Board of Directors;
       Whereas, throughout Mrs. Carter's 50 years of advocacy for 
     mental health, she has been an effective champion for the 
     elimination of stigma and discrimination against people with 
     mental health disorders, which are among the most common 
     health conditions around the world; and
       Whereas, at 93 years of age, Mrs. Carter continues her 
     devoted work to improving the lives of those affected by 
     mental health disorders and substance use disorders in the 
     United States and around the world: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) hereby expresses its profound gratitude, on behalf of 
     the people of the United States, to Rosalynn Smith Carter for 
     her lifetime of accomplishments and commitment on behalf of 
     those affected by mental health disorders and substance use 
     disorders;
       (2) recognizes, praises, and appreciates the improvements 
     in wellbeing and the betterment of society Mrs. Carter's 
     contributions have engendered; and
       (3) encourages all people of the United States to follow 
     Mrs. Carter's example of putting compassion into action 
     through a lifetime of service to humanity.

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