E-News from Congressman Murphy 1/9/15

Statement

Starting the New Congress by Helping our Veterans

After being sworn in on the opening day of the 114th Congress, the House of Representatives immediately started its work and passed the Hire More Heroes Act (H.R. 22) with Congressman Tim Murphy's support. This bill will encourage small businesses to hire veterans without being punished by Obamacare mandates.

Murphy joined with 401 of his colleagues in supporting the measure, which passed the House in March 2014, but died in the Senate.

Nearly nine million veterans are eligible to receive healthcare through the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Even though these individuals have qualified health insurance, they count toward the Obamacare "employer mandate," creating a perverse disincentive for businesses to hire veterans, even in an economy where according to some veteran service organizations as many as 25-30% of veterans returning from the Middle East are unable to find work.

"Veterans should not be penalized because they receive a benefit they earned while honorably serving their country. Small businesses nationwide will benefit from hiring team-oriented, highly-skilled and dedicated veterans under this law."

The Hire More Heroes Act has now been referred to the Senate where the new majority leadership will likely fast-track the bill for consideration.

Sensational Headlines And 'the Rest of the Story' on Mental Illness

Representative Murphy kicked off the 114th Congress this week announcing plans to reintroduce his comprehensive mental health reform bill, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, in a speech to his new colleagues on the House floor [click here to watch].

In his address, Murphy described how sensational news headlines about family killings often leave unreported the details about the perpetrator's mental illness. While those with mental illness are no more violent than anyone else, there is an increased risk of violent behavior for someone diagnosed with severe schizophrenia or bipolar disorder if they are not in treatment. Most of the violence is self-directed in the form of suicide.

But in Florida last month, a 23-year old man committed a gruesome murder of his mother after she allegedly nagged him to finish his household chores. But "the rest of the story" was the man's history of mental illness, his past commitments to psychiatric hospitals, and his decision to go without treatment for schizophrenia. Murphy also pointed to New York City where a 30-year-old man has been charged with killing his hedge-fund father over a cut in his allowance. "The rest of the story" was the man's declining mental health.

"Sadly, in all the cases I've mentioned today, the families knew there was something wrong with their mentally ill loved one. But they were ignored, frustrated or turned away by a broken system and state and federal laws that create walls and barriers instead of access to care," said Murphy.

In related news, the Huffington Post published a call to action in support of the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act by a mental healthcare "consumer" who has been diagnosed with an illness and is currently in treatment.

"Importantly, this bill tackles the inconvenient nature of serious mental illness: denial and 'treatment-resistant behavior,' " wrote Dustin DeMoss.

"The legislation reforms privacy laws to allow caretakers access to critical HIPAA information in a crisis situation. This is a necessary and innovative measure because "treatment-resistant behavior" is a problem with serious mental health issues. I know, because I was once 'treatment-resistant.'"

He continued, "I didn't want to recognize that I was ill. If my mother had been able to exercise more control over my treatment, I wouldn't have been able to get as ill as I allowed myself to get." Click here to read more.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune also published a column by a local mental health advocate praising Dr. Murphy's legislation for increasing the number of long-term psychiatric beds available to those in crisis. Since Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana has reached a point where inpatient treatment facilities for mental illness are in dangerously low supply.

The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act ends a severe shortage of psychiatric hospital beds. It also promotes inexpensive and innovative models of outpatient care, such as Assisted Outpatient Treatment, for those who are capable of receiving medical care while living in the community. AOT is designed to help severely mentally ill individuals for whom the alternative has been a revolving door of jail, homelessness, victimization, and violence when not in treatment.

House Moves Swiftly to Approve Keystone Pipeline

At the very start of a new session of Congress and with a new majority in the Senate, the House of Representatives passed for the tenth time to advance the Keystone Pipeline after six years of White House delays. The bipartisan Keystone XL Pipeline Act passed on a bipartisan vote of 266-153 with Congressman Murphy's support.

The construction of the pipeline would move America towards greater energy independence. According to the Department of Energy, the Pipeline's completion would allow the U.S. to process 830,000 barrels of oil per day, which represents about half of all oil imported from the Middle East. In addition, the State Department has estimated the project would support over 42,000 American jobs and contribute at least $2 billion to the U.S. economy.

The pipeline would also dramatically improve rail safety. Six years ago, 10,000 carloads of crude oil traveled by rail. Just four years later, rail traffic had grown to 400,000 carloads -- a 40-fold increase. The dramatic growth in transporting Canadian oil to US refineries has led to rail congestion, delays, and higher costs for other manufacturing sectors that rely on the railroads. It has also resulted in increased rail accidents. Last February, 21 cars derailed in Vandergrift, Westmoreland County, causing more than 3,500 gallons of crude oil to leak near the Kiski River.

Even as the new Congress advanced the Keystone Pipeline project with broad bipartisan support, the President announced his intention to veto the Keystone bill. Repeated studies have proven the pipeline to be completely environmentally-safe and that it would not result in an increase of global greenhouse gas emissions. While the President was calling for litigation to resolve the pipeline's future, the Nebraska Supreme Court issued a ruling on Friday that cleared the way for the project to move forward.

In spite of the veto threat, the Senate is expected to take up the House-passed Keystone bill next week, where it will also likely enjoy wide-bipartisan support.

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