WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement after he joined the Bipartisan Senate Mental Health Caucus, founded last month by Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Tina Smith (D-MN) to create a forum for Senators to collaborate on and promote bipartisan legislation and solutions, hold events to raise awareness of critical mental health issues, and destigmatize mental health:

“Far too many Americans are not getting the sort of attention and care they need in order to manage their mental health challenges,” said Sen. Cornyn. “Improving America’s mental health delivery system is an investment in safer and healthier communities, and I will continue to do everything I can to make mental health a priority.”

Additional caucus members include Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV),  Cory Booker (D-NJ), Susan Collins (R-ME), John Fetterman (D-PA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).  

Background:

In recent years, Congress has worked on a bipartisan basis to implement crucial mental health services, such as establishing the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, permanently expanding the successful Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) demonstration program, expanding access to suicide prevention programs for veterans, and building out the infrastructure for mental health in K-12 school settings. Sen. Cornyn authored the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, now law, which made the single largest investment in community-based mental health care in American history. The Senate Mental Health Caucus will work to ensure these investments are effective and improve the lives of American families and will build on this historic bipartisan legislation. This caucus is supported by the National Alliance on Mental Illness and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.