×
×
homepage logo
STORE

Mental illness bill needs House vote

By Staff | Oct 21, 2015

To the editor:

After the shooting in Oregon last week, Dottie Pacharis wrote an Op-Ed that appeared in the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and appears in the Fort Myers Beach Observer this issue (see page 32). Her article explains that there is legislation in Congress (HR 2646 Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act) that would address the #1 problem with all the mass shootings mental illness. The legislation has broad bi-partisan support with 141 co-sponsors on Congress.

So why hasn’t this been approved in Congress? Simply put, “it’s stuck in committee.” The House committee that overseas the legislation is chaired by Rep. Fred Upton who won’t allow the legislation out of committee because he is getting a lot of push back from the federal government agency (SAMHSA) that is assigned to oversee mental illness. Your tax dollars at work to hold down real reform on Mental Illness.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take a minute to call Chairman Fred Upton’s office at 202-225-3761 and urge him to pass HR 2646. Simply tell the staff member that answers the phone to “you want Congressman Upton to pass Congressman Tim Murphy’s House Bill #2646 and move it on the House floor for a vote”.

Thank you. If you’d like to learn more about this legislation? Click here: Mental Illness Legislation and please pass this along.

George Pacharis

Fort Myers Beach