The Murphy bill, which aims to defund or restructure federal initiatives on mental illness such as SAMHSA, as well as promote wider use of involuntary care – including medication – and has reportedly “stalled in committee without an obvious green light from the GOP leaders who requested it.” Conflict over the bill has exposed serious fault lines over the best way to reform the mental health system, with patients’ rights groups arguing that the proposed laws are inherently coercive, drive patients away from care and fail to produce better outcomes when compared with well-funded voluntary programs.
GOP Newtown Bill Hits Impasse (The Hill)
This has given me great hope. Thanks for sharing!
We’ve got to keep the pressure on and not become complacent at this point. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats are our friends when it comes to this. All of them want us to have more “treatment” all for our own good, of course!
Agreed. This is time to double down efforts. While I am particularly encouraged by
“sources close to the process say it the bill is stuck in neutral for now. While the Energy and Commerce Committee says it supports the effort, no markup has been scheduled.”
I think we need to engage anybody who would have a stake in being defensive about an expansion of coercive psychiatry.
Take the NRA. Around one year ago, I was criticized here for suggesting that they could be a potential ally. Now they go around opposing legislative efforts like this http://www.nraila.org/legislation/state-legislation/2014/3/colorado-oppose-misguided-mental-health-legislation.aspx .
Since the Obama administration has made AOT equivalent to involuntary commitment for second amendment purposes, I think that the NRA would be open to listen to stripping the expansion of AOT included in the Murphy bill, as well as the lower standard for civil commitment.
Murphy’s bill is problematic at best but there is a (better) alternative: “Strengthening Mental Health in Our Communities” by Ron Barber (D-AZ):
(http://barber.house.gov/sites/barber.house.gov/files/2014.05.06%20Summary_StrengtheningMentalHealthinOurCommunitiesAct.pdf)
Could somebody please tell me how much funding SAMHSA receives per year?
http://www.google.com/search?q=samhsa+budget
SAMHSA unveils FY 2015 Budget Request of 3.6 billion
http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/1403040414.aspx
This is a good sign. It would be good if this whole thing crumbled under the weight of the internal political contradictions involved, because we don’t seem to be in a unified enough position to effectively counter a well-organized campaign by the other side. (At least not this week.) Meanwhile people need to keep doing whatever they’ve been doing so far.
Please read the original article (there’s a link on the post) and note that PATRICK KENNEDY plans to step in, make the language a little more wishy washy, and “bridge the gap” between the 2 parties to get this passed. Hence IT IS IMPERATIVE — I’M SHOUTING — that people deluge
Kennedy with calls, emails, etc. and treat him as the PRIORITY for AN IMMEDIATE AND EMPHATIC EDUCATION on these matters.
The “Newtown Bill”. Maybe the fact the latest Fort Hood shooter was on psychiatric drugs had something to do with it ? http://www.businessinsider.com/the-fort-hood-gunman-ivan-lopez-was-on-prescription-drugs-2014-4
Great news. Keep it up.
There does seem to be a more enlightened alternative:
http://barber.house.gov/sites/barber.house.gov/files/2014.05.06%20Summary_StrengtheningMentalHealthinOurCommunitiesAct.pdf