Just in time for another shooting tragedy, the U.S. House overwhelmingly approved a bill that Republicans have framed as a way to treat the types of mental illnesses often linked to mass killings.
While Democrats have insisted that gun violence demands gun control, they did not object to the boosts in funding for mental health programs that the bill authored by Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., provides. The bill passed 422-2.
"Our mental health system in this country is a failure, and this is one of those times when we're not gathered for a moment of silence, but a time of action," Murphy said Wednesday. "We're here, finally, to speak up for the last, the lost, the least and the lonely. That is those that suffer from mental illness."
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As is the case with a bill aimed at opioid addiction that the House approved Friday, Democrats and treatment advocates said that the mental health bill does not provide nearly enough money.
The legislation creates a new secretary in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services who is charged with overseeing mental health and substance abuse programs. It also authorizes funding for grants to treat mental illness and addiction, including for children.
A controversial provision aimed at allowing medical providers to more easily acquire and share a patient's records with caregivers was not included in the final draft after Democrats voiced concerns about privacy implications.
Despite the ease with which the bill passed in the House, it remains unclear whether a companion bill in the Senate will be approved before the election because of a debate over gun politics.
At issue is gun-related legislation being pushed by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, that he is trying to attach to the mental health bill. Cornyn's bill proposes establishing a very strict process for barring a person from acquiring guns because of mental illness.
Despite being in the minority, Democrats in the upper chamber have the power to block bills as long as 41 of their members vote against ending debate on a bill.
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