Pete Domenici: “as someone who has worked to bring a greater understanding of mental illness and to end all forms of discrimination…”

“as someone who has worked to bring a greater understanding of mental illness and to end all forms of discrimination against people who suffer from a mental illness, I am pleased to report that the Senate has passed a monumental mental health parity bill that could bring hope and greater measure of fairness in mental health insurance care coverage to as many as 113 million Americans and nearly 500,000 New Mexicans. This legislation, the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007, builds on the 1996 Mental Health Parity law that I authored with the late Senator Paul Wellstone. It is supported by more than 230 organizations and has been a bipartisan effort from the beginning. I thank Senator Kennedy, the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, for his vision, his leadership and his support for this legislation.”