Al Franken: “I rise to speak about the Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act, a bill I am introducing today with a number of my…”

“I rise to speak about the Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act, a bill I am introducing today with a number of my Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle and with Representative Doug Collins, who is introducing this legislation in the House. This bipartisan, bicameral bill will improve outcomes for people with mental illness when they interact with the criminal justice system. The Judiciary Committee unanimously approved this bill by voice vote in the last Congress, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on the committee to move this legislation forward to consideration by the full Senate. The Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act is meant to address a very serious problem: The United States has 5 percent of the world's population but has 25 percent of the world's prison population--in large part because we have effectively criminalized mental illness. People with mental health conditions disproportionately are arrested and incarcerated, but instead of providing people with adequate access to mental health treatment, we let them fall through the cracks and languish in prison. As my home county--Hennepin County--Sheriff Rich Stanek put it, ``Local jails are the largest mental health facilities in the state of Minnesota,'' and this holds true across our Nation. Let's be clear. Using our criminal justice system as a substitute for a fully functioning mental health system doesn't make sense.…”