Arlen Specter: “The subcommittee held a hearing on this matter in February and had extraordinarily heartrending testimony from families…”

“The subcommittee held a hearing on this matter in February and had extraordinarily heartrending testimony from families who had been touched directly by suicide. The hearing was held at the request of the Senator from Nevada, Mr. Reid. It was quite compelling. The subcommittee and the full committee allocated $662 million to the mental health services, an increase of $31 million over last year. I think the fact we have such a large sum of money in mental health services on a relative basis, including a $31 million increase for this year, is a testament to the propriety or the value judgments which have gone into the structure of this bill. The substantial allocation the Appropriations Committee has made is a testament to the value judgments and the priorities we have established. I thank Senator Reid for sharing his own experiences.”