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)