[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15532]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        21ST CENTURY CURES BILL

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, yesterday I spoke about the 21st Century 
Cures bill the House passed by a very large margin last night, and I am 
looking forward to taking up that legislation here in the Senate. I am 
particularly grateful that it includes some mental health reform 
legislation that I introduced here in the Senate. This represents the 
very first mental health reform in more than a decade, and it is high 
time we got it done. There are a lot of people who contributed to this 
effort, and I think it is something we can all be proud of.
  With the mental health portion of the bill, we have two chief goals 
in mind--first, to help those who are mentally ill get the treatment 
they need, and secondly, to help law enforcement and first responders 
know how to respond to a potential mental health crisis in order to 
keep the person they are responding to safe, as well as the first 
responders themselves.
  It opens up existing funds so that they can be used for more 
outpatient treatment options. That way, local and State governments can 
help identify mentally ill offenders, assess their mental health needs, 
and get them in the right treatment to improve their condition, rather 
than sending them to jail, where they will be warehoused and their 
condition will likely just get worse and worse.
  This legislation will also provide flexibility to State and local 
authorities so they can use what works in their communities to help 
mentally ill individuals in the criminal justice system get healthy. 
This could include things such as assisted outpatient treatments, where 
families can help their loved ones, with a backstop of court 
supervision so they will remain compliant with their doctors' orders 
and take their medication, which will allow them to lead productive 
lives.
  This legislation will make available Federal grants so that our law 
enforcement officials have the resources to get the kind of training 
they need. When law enforcement officials are called to the scene of an 
incident with somebody suffering from a mental health crisis, it is 
very important that they know how to deescalate that crisis, both for 
the well-being of the individual suffering that crisis as well as the 
law enforcement officials responding.
  It will allow the creation of more crisis-intervention teams 
comprised of law enforcement and first responders and even school 
officials, where appropriate, so they can rapidly respond to and 
counter a threat of violence in the community.
  Yesterday I received messages from some of the people who have worked 
with us on this legislation and know all too well how mental illness 
can affect our families. One individual wrote:

       After losing both [a] son and a husband to suicide, and 
     having an adult son with bipolar disorder, I know only too 
     well the frustrations of the mental health system. Thank you, 
     Senator, for your determination and hard work to bring change 
     to this broken system.

  This is why these mental health reforms are so important. People need 
help and the mental health system needs reform, and that is why we need 
to pass the 21st Century Cures bill--for all the good it will do in 
addition to these important reforms in dealing with mental health 
challenges around the country. So I look forward to finishing the job 
next week and sending it to the President's desk.

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