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E-News from Washington December 11, 2001 Vol. 01-34
Grassroots Efforts Still Needed on Mental Health Parity

Decision to Be Made on Wednesday, December 12

As you know, on October 30th, the U.S. Senate passed the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act, by voice vote, as an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2002 Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Act (Labor-HHS-Education). As you know from previous E-News from Washington alerts, the battle for mental health parity is taking place in the conference committee appointed to reconcile differences in the House and Senate passed Labor-HHS-Education bills. We are getting down to the wire and need your help. If you've already called your member, call them again.

The conference committee will meet Wednesday afternoon, December 12, and will vote on the Senate's parity amendment. AMHCA members and others interested in mental health parity should continue to use the parity Legislative Hotline (1-866-PARITY4) to call conferees, to urge their support for the mental health parity amendment as passed by the Senate. House Republicans are especially important.

Message: "I'm calling to urge the Representative to work with Labor-HHS Appropriations conferees to accept the Senate's mental health parity amendment. This legislation, supported by a majority of House Members, will help families by banning arbitrary limits on needed mental health services." 

The Los Angeles Times, on December 9th, published an article with a very good summary of the struggle that we're in: http://www.latimes.com/la-000097830dec09.story.

List of Conferees on Labor-HHS-Education Bill

House Republicans: Ralph Regula (OH), C.W. Bill Young (FL), Ernest Istook
(OK), Dan Miller (FL), Roger Wicker (MS), Anne Northup (KY), Randy "Duke"
Cunningham (CA), Kay Granger (TX), John E. Peterson (PA), Don Sherwood
(PA)

House Democrats: David Obey (WI), Steny Hoyer (MD), Nancy Pelosi (CA),
Nita
Lowey (NY), Rosa DeLauro (CT), Jesse Jackson Jr. ( IL), Patrick Kennedy
(RI)

Senate Democrats: Tom Harkin (IA), Ernest Hollings (SC), Daniel Inouye
(HI),
Harry Reid (NV), Herb Kohl (WI), Patty Murray (MA), Mary Landreiu (LA),
Robert C. Byrd (WV)

Senate Republicans: Arlen Specter (PA), Thad Cochran (MS), Judd Gregg
(NH),
Larry Craig (ID), Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX), Ted Stevens (AK), Mike DeWine
(OH)


Beth Powell
AMHCA Director of Public Policy and Professional Issues
801 N. Fairfax Street, Suite 304
Alexandria, VA  22314
703-548-6002, ext. 105
www.amhca.org