Urgent Contacts Needed ASAP for GOP House Conferees and Leadership In Support of Mental Health Parity!

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS ACTION ALERT

December 5, 2001

Urgent Contacts Needed ASAP for GOP House Conferees and Leadership In Support of Mental Health Parity!

THE ISSUE AT HAND

The Republican leadership is continuing to exert significant pressure on the 10 House Republican Labor-HHS-Education conferees not to accept the Domenici-Wellstone Amendment. NASW understands that these conferees, although personally supportive of mental health parity, are being asked by their party leadership to "take one for the team" and prevent the inclusion of the Domenici-Wellstone Amendment in the final Conference Report for H.R. 3061.

BACKGROUND

On November 6th, the Senate passed H.R. 3061, the FY 2002 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill, by a vote of 89 to 10. And since the House of Representatives had already passed their version of H.R. 3061, on October 11^th by a vote of 373 to 43, the measure proceeded to a conference committee to iron out the differences.

One of the major points of discussion involves mental health parity. Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Paul Wellstone (D-MN) successfully offered a mental health parity amendment during the Senate consideration of H.R. 3061. The Domenici-Wellstone Amendment, as passed by voice vote on October 30^th, contains the entire text of S. 543, the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2001, which is a substantial expansion of mental health parity, far beyond that mandated by the 1996 Mental Health Parity Act.

A conference committee has been convened to iron out the differences; the committee had been scheduled to meet on December 3rd, but has been postponed indefinitely.

ACTION NEEDED

ASAP, call the targeted House Members at 1-866-PARITY4 (1-866-727-4894) . This toll-free number, established by the Coalition for Fairness in Mental Illness Coverage, will connect you to the U.S. Capitol Switchboard, where you may ask for a Representative's office by name. Once you've been connected to an office, be sure to ask to speak with the "Mental Health Legislative Assistant" and deliver one of following messages.

Targeted Representatives and Message

Republican Leadership:

Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL)

Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX)

Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-TX)

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA)

Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner (R-OH)

Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA)

For the above Representatives, the message is:

"I’m calling to urge XX (insert Member's title and name) to step aside and let the Labor-HHS Appropriations conferees finish their work on the Labor-HHS Appropriations bill. Inclusion of mental health parity is the right thing to do and the (title) should not stand in the way of 244 of his colleagues who support it. All of us have to live by our conscience and let the conferees vote theirs!"

House Republican Conferees (all members of the House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee

Ralph Regula (R-OH) CHAIR

C.W. Young (R-FL)

Ernest Istook (R-OK)

Dan Miller (R-FL)

Roger Wicker (R-MS)

Anne Northup (R-KY)

Randy Cunningham (R-CA)

Kay Granger (R-TX)

John Peterson (R-PA)

Don Sherwood (R-PA)

Only for the above Representatives, the message is:

"I’m calling to urge the Representative to vote their conscience on inclusion of the Domenici-Wellstone Amendment in the final Conference Report on Labor-HHS Appropriations. 50 million Americans and 153,000 social workers are counting on you! Don't let us down!"

THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP-- IT WILL MAKE THE NECESSARY DIFFERENCE!