Mental Health Systems Legislation Remarks Announcing the Proposed Legislation.

THE PRESIDENT. Just a few weeks after I became President, I appointed a Presidential Commission on mental health with Tom Bryant as its Chairman, and with my wife, Rosalynn, as the Honorary Chairperson. This was done because of my deep interest in mental health, the experience that Rosalynn and I had together in Georgia in trying to improve the mental health situation there, and also because, on a nationwide basis, this is a very serious problem.

Their report was made last year, and it was comprehensive and very specific and very helpful. Some of the recommendations have already been implemented through budget requests and through administrative action. And, for instance, we have increased substantially the requests for funds for basic research to deal with the mental health problem and have increased substantially the payment for outpatient services for those under Medicare who are chronically mentally ill.

We have still a very serious problem for those who are mentally or emotionally disabled. Some estimates indicate that between 10 and 15 percent of all the people in our country have a mental or emotional problem of some kind, and we have now more than 1 1/2 million people who are institutionalized. Because of an absence of a cohesive program and an absence of close cooperation and a partnership between the local, State, and Federal officials and private agencies, many mentally ill people have to choose between unnecessary institutionalization, sometimes staying in a mental hospital for their entire lives, on the one hand, and inadequate community services on the other.

We also don't have enough help for the very poor, for minority groups, for young children, and for the elderly.

Today I have sent to the Congress a proposal, a message from me, to 'be followed up by legislation called the Mental Health Systems Act. This will be introduced jointly by Senator Kennedy and by Congressman Waxman, and I understand several other sponsors will attach their names to this very important legislation.

It will deal with some of the very serious problems that I have already outlined. One of the things that will be accomplished is to provide more flexible funding. Quite often we have seen that local communities with limited needs and also limited ability have been required in the past either to have a fully comprehensive and very costly mental health program or no program at all. Under the new legislation, specifically focused mental health care can be provided to meet the requirements of the community and also to be within the limits of the community resources.

We'll have an additional emphasis in the future on the prevention of mental illness. This is the most cost-effective means to approach mental illness. Research and common experience has shown that an early treatment, even beginning with prenatal care, in some instances, and with the early life of a child can prevent a very serious and perhaps permanent impairment of the mental capabilities of that person.

We'll shift toward more help for deprived areas, rural areas and the inner city areas, for instance. We've had a substantial increase in nurses, medical doctors, and also paraprofessionals in the last few years, but they are inadequately distributed throughout the country now.

And the last thing is that so many different people are interested in mental health from widely diverse points of view, that the bureaucratic confusion has been excessive. We hope to address that problem as well and to guarantee the basic human rights or civil rights of the mentally ill through advocacy programs. Quite often if a person is mentally ill, we assume that they are subhuman, and on many occasions their basic legal rights are not only taken away from them but are never explained to them. And this is the kind of comprehensive approach that Rosalynn, Tom Bryant, and Joe Califano have evolved.

I believe this legislation will have a farreaching beneficial impact on our country and on the millions of people in our Nation who suffer at this time in an unwarranted and unnecessary fashion from the ills brought about by emotional or mental disturbance.

My wife will make a few comments, and then Joe Califano, following that, will explain to you the details of the legislation. Rosalynn.

MRS. CARTER. Well, I'm very pleased that this new Mental Health Systems Act is going to Congress today. I've tried to be an advocate for the mentally afflicted within the White House, with Congress, and with the American people. And I've had many, many people who've joined with me in working to improve the lives of those persons who suffer from mental afflictions.

I have sometimes—I might even say often—been frustrated at how long it takes to move the bureaucracy and develop programs. But I'm very pleased today that we do have a good bill. It's sound, it's doable, and it is a very important first step in seeing that mental health services are accessible to all those people in our country who need the services.

It's going to be difficult at this time to pass this legislation through Congress this year. I feel an urgency to do this, and I'm going to be working very hard to see that we do get it passed. Tomorrow I'm going to Chicago to speak to the American Psychiatric Association. I'm going to ask their help in working with Congress to push the legislation through to take quick action this year.

I'm going to be working with the major organizations that are interested and concerned about mental health. And also there were literally hundreds of persons who worked with me on the President's Commission on Mental Health in developing that report. And this legislation is developed from that report. It was used as a blueprint for this legislation.

There are so many people in our country who are concerned about those with mental afflictions. There's been so much fragmentation in efforts. And I think that this is one time that we can join together in a coordinated way to do something really positive and help those people in our country who need help.

Joe Califano has worked closely with me. He's going to describe the legislation to you now, brief you on the legislation. I am going to meet with the Congressional Relations staff and start—work out a strategy for getting the legislation passed through Congress.

Thank you.

Joe, I leave you with it.

Joe just went with me to the World Health Organization. I spoke about mental health there, because I think it is a worldwide problem. And we had some long discussions on the airplane about the legislation and how we can get it passed. And he's going to brief you now on maybe what we talked about.

Thank you.