Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, 1 in 4 adults, a total of 61.5 million Americans, will experience mental illness within a given year. The numbers alone don't tell the stories behind the deeply personal pain that this disease inflicts on our friends, neighbors, and, most importantly, their families.

Today, I am proud to stand with the gentleman from Pennsylvania in support of this strong bipartisan bill. He has truly championed the first major mental health reform in this country in 50 years.

Right now, our healthcare system does not allow families of those suffering from mental illness to become partners in their health care, and this bill ensures that adult patients struggling with mental illness will receive the healthcare treatment they need, while allowing their families to become close partners in their care. It expands the mental health workforce and increases the number of psychiatric hospital beds for those experiencing an acute mental health crisis.

This legislation is a significant, important step toward comprehensive, community-based care that will work better for people and, most importantly, their families. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill.

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