WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn), co-author of the bipartisan Mental Health Reform Act and member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, delivered a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate emphasizing the urgent need for Congress to pass mental health reforms and provide relief to the millions of Americans coping with mental illness. During the speech, Murphy urged his Senate colleagues to immediately pass the bipartisan deal – which was passed by the House last night – to overhaul our nation’s mental health system, address the opioid and heroin crisis, and increase investments in medical research. Murphy worked closely with U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to craft the mental health provisions included in the bill. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill next week.

“I’d heard too many devastating stories of people struggling with serious mental illness and addiction whose lives were forever changed because they couldn’t get the care they need. I’d seen up close the heartbreak and frustration that families suffered trying to find care for a loved one – care that seemed impossible to find and even harder to pay for. That’s why I worked with Republicans and Democrats on the Mental Health Reform Act,” said Murphy. “With today’s House passage of the bill, Congress is closer than ever to passing mental health reform and making a real difference in millions of people’s lives. I’ll be working hard to get the bill over the finish line in the Senate so President Obama can sign it into law before he leaves office.”

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