Pete Domenici: “there have been a lot of questions as to the status of the mental parity bill and where we are going and what our plans…”

“there have been a lot of questions as to the status of the mental parity bill and where we are going and what our plans are from those who have been working on it for a long time. I remind everyone that this bill has been supported by large numbers of Senators. We have had our difficulties the last year. Without going into detail, we have had difficulties trying to get this worked out for hearings in the House. We are in a position where we cannot get that done. Now we are in a position where we can tell the Senators that the committee of jurisdiction, under the leadership of Judd Gregg, is looking at a substitute which seems acceptable to the community that helped us on the bill and that the chairman indicates will have a high priority in his committee the early part of next year. That means we should be passing mental parity in the first couple of months of the next session.”