Kennedy Statement On Obama Selection Of New SAMHSA Director

Statement

Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI) issued the following statement today following President Obama's selection of Pamela Hyde as the next Administrator of The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA).

"I am pleased that the President has made a selection for the next Administrator of SAMHSA. Pamela Hyde has an impressive background, including more than 30 years of experience in health care and human services. On behalf of all the individuals and families who struggle with mental illness and substance-use disorders, I look forward to working with Administrator-Designate Hyde. I also commend the efforts of Dr. Broderick, who has served as Acting Administrator to ensure the agency's efforts continued seamlessly. "

As the author of last year's mental health parity law, Kennedy spearheaded an effort to secure $5 million to fund a new Community Resilience initiative within the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to help citizens whose mental health has been affected by the economic downturn, as well as an increase of $1.5 million for the suicide hotline to deal with an increase in calls to the service. Kennedy is also the lead sponsor of legislation to reauthorize SAMSHA.

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