Marcy Kaptur: “With the tragic mass shooting last week at the Washington Navy Yard, our country has again been ravaged by preventable…”

“With the tragic mass shooting last week at the Washington Navy Yard, our country has again been ravaged by preventable gun violence. America must confront these events and their causes to prevent future tragedies. Since 2007, according to the FBI, there have been 146 reported mass shootings. Far too often, a large contributing factor to this recent surge in violence is untreated mental illness; and in far too many instances, the perpetrators are former members of our military. Our Nation must bridge the gaps in our current mental health system to avoid more tragedies. The President recently unveiled his BRAIN Initiative. It calls for $100 million in funding to advance our understanding of the human mind. Supporting this proposal will go a long way to furthering our understanding of the causes and conditions that afflict those who wish to harm others and themselves. Further, Congressman McKinley of West Virginia and I have introduced H.R. 1615, the Examining America's Mental Health Services Act of 2013. The bill requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the National Academies' Institute of Medicine to conduct a comprehensive study on the gaps in our Nation's mental health services and to explore how these gaps increase the risk of violent acts. Experts such as former Army Vice Chief of Staff Dr. Peter Chiarelli, Dr. Joseph Calabrese of Case Western Reserve University, U.S. Army Colonel Carl Castro, and Dr. E.…”