Heidi Alexander: “at 2 p.m., the Senate will move to a final passage vote on legislation we call 21st Century Cures. It has been called by…”

“at 2 p.m., the Senate will move to a final passage vote on legislation we call 21st Century Cures. It has been called by the majority leader the most important piece of legislation the Congress is likely to act on this year. The House of Representatives added to the bill a Mental Health Reform Act--actually three separate bills that Senator Murphy, Senator Cornyn, and Senator Cassidy worked on especially here, which is the most important reform of many mental health programs in more than a decade. It is very important to one out of five adult Americans who have a mental illness. It caused me to think this: This is Pearl Harbor Day. Pearl Harbor Day is a day when we remember the terrifying attacks on the American military that killed more than 2,000 and launched us into World War II. We also remember it as a day that began to create and define what we now refer to as the ``greatest generation''--the generation distinguished by the men and women of that era, the era of Bob Dole, George H.W. Bush, and men and women now in their nineties and late eighties. They were defined by being willing to work hard on behalf of the entire country, put their differences aside and work for the greater good; to recognize that our diversity is important, but what is more important is the fact that we are all Americans. There have been some other times in our recent history when we have been reminded of that, and 9/11 is the most important of those.…”