Mental health bill could become a casualty

WASHINGTON _ Nearly six months after the mass murders in Newtown, Conn., one more casualty is looming in Congress.

Ironically, it's the one idea that had unanimous, bipartisan support - help for the mentally ill.

When the Senate voted to defeat a bill last month that would have expanded background checks to Internet and gun show sales, so too died an amendment attached to the bill that was passed unanimously by the chamber's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The amendment would have expanded and improved services available to the mentally ill - a disorder that affects one in four Americans.

The chairman of that committee, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, was left virtually speechless last week to explain the future of the amendment which was one of the only ideas that had broad support from Democrats and Republicans. But Harkin noted that even if the idea passes the Senate somehow, he was skeptical that the Republican-led House of Representatives would approve it.

“We got it through. It passed overwhelmingly. But the gun bill died,” Harkin said. “So we're going to look for other avenues perhaps to get it through, some other legislation. I don't have any right now.”

Harkin noted that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and a strong gun rights supporter, has said several times that he plans to reintroduce the background check bill in the near future. For now, Harkin said he prefers a wait-and-see approach on whether Reid does that.

One idea would be to introduce the amendment as a stand-alone bill, given the strong support from senators from both parties. Almost immediately after last December's murders, for example, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, called loudly and forcefully for mental health legislation.

“It's a matter of getting floor time, and even if we get it through the Senate, what's the House going to do? I don't know. We'll see if Reid brings it up again,” Harkin said. “If not, yeah, we might look for something else we could put it on. There might be some minor health bill that is widely, broadly supported that we could put it on. But right now, as I sit here talking to you, I don't have anything.”

Mental illness is a common thread among the mass murders committed by gunmen in recent years in Colorado, Arizona, Wisconsin, Virginia and Connecticut. Specifically, the Senate amendment “reauthorizes and improves programs administered by both the (federal) Departments of Education and Health and Human Services related to awareness, prevention and early identification of mental health conditions.” A key part of the bill would expand prevention services available in schools.

An analysis by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would cost taxpayers $844 million between 2014 and 2018.

Mental health advocates such as Michael Flaum say the issue is critical. Flaum is director of the Iowa Consortium for Mental Health at the University of Iowa College of Medicine in Iowa City.

“One in four Americans refers to the recognized prevalence of a wide variety of mental disorders, including things like depression and anxiety disorders. There is increasing awareness of just how common they are,” Flaum said. “The good news is because of people like Senator Harkin and lots of other sources there's been a lot of good work over the last couple of decades in reducing the stigma. So more and more people are coming out and saying, ‘OK, I'm going to seek help for this like I would for any other medical disorder.'

“The problem is that we just lack the resources that we need to provide those kinds of services. So anything that would help increase access to mental health services would be a great help.”

As recently as a month ago, Reid said in a floor speech that, “We're going to come back to this bill.”

“Make no mistake, this debate is not over. In fact, this fight is just beginning. I've spoken with the president. He and I agree that the best way to keep working towards passing a background check bill is to hit a pause and freeze the background check bill where it I,” Reid said. “In the meantime, we'll keep moving forward with the people from Aurora, Colorado; Blacksburg, Virginia; Newtown and other places to make sure that we are able to get something done. This will allow senators to keep negotiating.”