May 4, 1977
Page 13538
UP AMENDMENT NO. 186
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I send to the desk an amendment proposed by Mr. MUSKIE.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The amendment will be stated.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Maine (Mr. MUSKIE), for himself and Mr. KENNEDY, proposes an unprinted amendment numbered 186.
Insert at the appropriate place the following:
Section 603(b) of Public Law 9463 is amended by striking out "Not later than two years from the date of enactment of this Act" and inserting in lieu thereof "Not later than August 30, 1977,".
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I urge the adoption of the Muskie-Kennedy amendment to continue the Committee on Mental Health and Illness of the Elderly for 1 month until August 30, 1977. The 1 month extension of the committee is reasonable because this additional time will enable the committee to coordinate its actions and recommendations with the Presidential Commission on Mental Health, which was created on February 17. In its Report on Mental Health Care and the Elderly, the Committee on Aging emphasized the need to develop immediate and long range actions for a national policy in this area.
Mr. KENNEDY. This recommendation led to the establishment of the nine member Committee on Mental Health and Illness of the Elderly in 1975. The recent hearings of the Committee on Aging revealed that there were 237,691 patients in State mental hospitals in 1974. Of this total, 59,685 individuals, one out of every four patients, were aged 65 or older. Many elderly persons are warehoused in institutions. Others are dumped in communities without adequate facilities and resources to assist them. Some individuals remain in their homes and apartments, cut off from the help they desperately need. For these reasons, false stereotypes exist about the treatability of the elderly mental health patients. This often leads to a cursory diagnosis that treatment will not be effective. There is, however, clear and convincing evidence to dispel these myths about mentally impaired older Americans.
Our Nation can no longer turn its back on the serious mental health care problems affecting many elderly persons. The Committee on Health and Mental Illness of the Elderly will help to educate the public to the problems of this group, as well as to develop recommendations for a long overdue national policy.
I affirm my support for this amendment and ask that it be adopted.
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I am pleased that Senator KENNEDY, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Health of the Human Resources Committee, has joined me in sponsoring this measure to continue the Committee on Mental Health and Illness of the Elderly for approximately one month, until September 30, 1977.
This nine member committee was first established in 1975 under the Health Revenue Sharing Act, Public Law 9463. That act directed the committee to conduct a study and submit recommendations within 1 year concerning:
First. Future needs for mental health facilities, manpower, research, and training to respond to the elderly's mental health care needs;
Second. Appropriate care of the aged in mental institutions; and
Third. Proposals for implementing the mental health care recommendations of the 1971 White House Conference on Aging.
It was necessary, however, to extend the deadline date for one year under the 1976 Health Maintenance Organization Amendments because the Ford administration did not formally appoint all the committee members until August, 1976.
The Muskie-Kennedy amendment would extend the life of the committee for 1 month to enable the committee to share its recommendations with the newly established Presidential Commission on Mental Health.
The purpose is to promote better coordination and less duplication between these two units concerning mental health issues and the elderly.
This extension would also enable the Committee to meet any unanticipated problems in completing the report or expediting its clearance.
The amendment would require no additional funding.
For these reasons, I urge that this amendment to continue the Committee on Mental Health and Illness of the Elderly until September 30, 1977, be adopted.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Does the Senator from New York seek recognition?
Mr. JAVITS. Mr. President, I have no objection to this amendment.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. All time is yielded back. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.