Nancy Pelosi: “Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to Mr. Stokes for presenting this motion to instruct conferees on the VA-HUD appropriations…”

“Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to Mr. Stokes for presenting this motion to instruct conferees on the VA-HUD appropriations bill. As Members know, and others have attested to, the motion instructs the conferees to agree to three meritorious Senate provisions. The first is the Daschle amendment, which would authorize the VA to provide benefits to children born with spina bifida if one of the parents was exposed to agent orange during the Vietnam war. Spina bifida is a debilitating birth defect resulting when the fetus's spine fails to form properly. Fortunately, we can help improve the lives of the children involved, with the benefits. Mr. Speaker, this is a very important provision. The second provision is the Domenici-Wellstone amendment to begin the important process of increasing coverage for treatment of mental illnesses. This limited provision simply requires any group health insurance that covers mental illness to provide the same amounts on annual and lifetime coverage that the plan provides for physical illness. Much more needs to be done to ensure equity for coverage for mental illness, but this is a good beginning. Anyone who has had mental illness in their families can attest to the importance of moving toward a more equitable insurance coverage. The pain caused by mental illness is immense. The loss to productivity is staggering. We need to do more, and we need to do it now.”