Bill Clinton: “today, Senator Collins and I, and in the House of Representatives, Congressman Kennedy and Congressman Ros- Lehtinen…”

“today, Senator Collins and I, and in the House of Representatives, Congressman Kennedy and Congressman Ros- Lehtinen, are reintroducing the Positive Aging Act, in an effort to improve the accessibility and quality of mental health services for our rapidly growing population of older Americans. We are pleased to be reintroducing this important legislation during Mental Health and Aging Week. I want to acknowledge and thank our partners from the mental health and aging community who have collaborated with us and have been working diligently on these issues for many years, including the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, the American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Nurses Association. Today, advances in medical science are helping us to live longer than ever before. In New York State alone, there are 2\1/2\ million citizens aged 65 or older. And this population will only continue to grow as the firs wave of Baby Boomers turns 65 in less than 10 years. As we look forward to this increased longevity, we must also acknowledge the challenges that we face related to the quality of life as we age. Chief among these are mental and behavioral health concerns. Although most older adults enjoy good mental health it is estimated that nearly 20 percent of Americans age 55 or older experience a mental disorder.…”