Political Quotes

“while the Senator from Connecticut is still here, I want say through the Chair that I am glad I had a chance to hear his remarks. I agree with him that there is a mental health crisis, and I congratulate him for his leadership, especially with the Senator from Louisiana, Mr. Cassidy, in focusing the Senate's attention on dealing with it this year. I think he has a very passionate and practical way of making the argument that while there may not be a consensus on what we do about guns, there is a consensus, I believe, in this body on what we do about mental health or at least an important step in the direction of dealing with the crisis. If we are able to do it, Senator Murphy, Senator Cassidy, and Senator Murray, the ranking Democrat on the HELP committee, will deserve great credit for that happening. I plan to attend for a while the summit tomorrow that Senators Murphy and Cassidy are hosting. It will help to draw attention to the efforts that the Senators made. Last year the full Senate passed the Mental Health Improvement Act. This year, working with the Senators from Connecticut and Louisiana, and the Senator from Washington, Senator Murray, we have incorporated that into the Mental Health Reform Act. We are very hopeful we can pass that legislation on the Senate floor in June and work with the House to turn it into a law this year.…”