May 24, 1976
Page 15159
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. MUSKIE (for himself and Mr. CHURCH) :
S. 3481. A bill to provide that the Committee on Mental Health and Illness of the Elderly (established by Public Law 94–63) shall have an additional year in which to carry out its duties. Referred to the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare.
COMMITTEE ON MENTAL HEALTH AND ILLNESS OF THE ELDERLY
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I introduce for appropriate reference a bill to provide an additional year for the Committee on Mental Health and Illness of the Elderly to complete its study and recommendations.
This nine-member committee was created under the Health Revenue Sharing Act last July when the Congress decisively overrode President Ford's veto.
Public Law 94–63 directs the committee to submit a report by July 29, 1976, to the Congress on several important issues, including:
First. The future needs for mental health facilities, manpower, research, and training to meet the mental health care needs of the elderly.
Second. Appropriate care of aged persons in mental institutions.
Third. Proposals for implementing the recommendations of the 1971 White House Conference on Aging concerning mental health care of older Americans.
However, it will be impossible for the committee to meet this deadline because the Secretary of HEW has yet to name the nine members.
As the sponsor of the legislation that led to the establishment of this committee, I am deeply disturbed by the administration's foot dragging.
Recently, Senator CHURCH, chairman of the Committee on Aging, joined me in urging Secretary Mathews to name the nine members of the Committee on Mental Health and Illness of the Elderly. I wish our letter had not been necessary. Mental illness is a serious problem among our elderly.
The committee I proposed was charged with examining the problem and proposing solutions.
It was not intended to be a new bureaucratic entity. It was not supposed to keep studying the problem for the indefinite future. It was to report within a year.
But nothing has yet been done. Now, we are faced with letting the committee die without hearing its recommendations, or extending its life to make up for the inattention of those most responsible in government for caring for the needs of our elderly.
It is no wonder that people feel government does not care any more.
The purpose of this legislation is to grant a 1-year extension — until July 29, 1977 — for the Committee on Mental Health and Illness of the Elderly to perform its functions.
This additional time is needed to permit a thorough, complete, and effective report on the issues the committee is charged by law to investigate.
The committee's report takes on added meaning because widespread confusion and contradictions now affect public policy concerning mental health care of the elderly.
This failure in public policy is causing heavy, social, and psychological costs among older Americans and their families.
Many elderly are "warehoused" in institutions when they could be returned to the community if proper services were available. Some are dumped into communities without adequate facilities and resources to assist them. Still others remain in their homes and apartments, cut off from the help they desperately need.
Our Nation can no longer turn its back on the serious mental health problems of older Americans. The Committee on Mental Health and Illness of the Elderly, however, can provide an important first step for the development of a national policy in this area.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows :
S. 3481
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 603 (b) of the Act of July 29, 1975 (Public Law 94–63, 42 U.S.C. 289 K-2 Note) is amended by striking out "one year" and inserting in lieu thereof "two years".