IMMIGRATION BACK ON SENATE FLOOR

Amidst announcements of new border enforcement initiatives and a prime time speech by the President tonight (8pm EST) on immigration, the Senate will take up debate again today on immigration reform.  The starting point for the debate will be the Hagel-Martinez compromise which is similar to the bill passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee except that it creates a tiered system for earned legalization based on how long an undocumented immigrant has been in the country.  However, the compromise still contains some punitive provisions and a number of amendments could be offered to weaken it and make it more like the enforcement-only House bill.  Your input is critical to ensure that the Senate passes compassionate and comprehensive immigration reform!

          ACTION NEEDED         

Write your Senators in support of just immigration reform that provides security, protects workers, reunites families, and offers a path to citizenship for hard-working immigrants.  A sample letter is available on our action website for you to personalize and send. 

For more information on the current Senate immigration bill, please visit the National Immigration Law Center.

          MAY IS (also) MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH         

A wide range of organizations have come together to raise awareness about mental health by designating May as "Mental Health Awareness Month."  Please check out the National Mental Health Association's website for public education and action ideas.  At the National Advocacy Center, we want to use this opportunity to again highlight the need for mental health and substance abuse treatment parity.  Studies continue to show that even while awareness of behavioral health problems is growing, only around a third who need treatment actually receive it.  Part of the reason for this is that many health plans discriminate against mental illness by limiting coverage for mental health and substance abuse treatment. 

Over the past several years, a number of bills have been introduced to try to ensure coverage for behavioral health on par with that for physical illnesses, but despite bipartisan support, they have never passed.  Currently, the House mental health parity bill, H.R. 1402, has 227 co-sponsors, but House leaders refuse to bring it up for a vote.  In the past, Senate bills have garnered over 60 co-sponsors, but a bill has yet to be introduced in the current Congress.  We need your help to get mental health parity moving again!

          ACTION NEEDED         

Write to your Senators and Representative and urge them to push for legislation to ensure full mental health parity. A sample letter is available at our action website for you to edit and send.

For more information about mental health parity, please visit the National Mental Health Association website.

          REMINDER         

In addition to being the last day for beneficiaries to sign-up for the Medicare prescription drug benefit, May 15th is also the last day to submit comments to the Citizens Health Care Working Group about what kind of health care system you want for America.  Visit the Working Group’s website to take the survey and share your thoughts. The Working Group will be summarizing its findings and presenting a report in early June and we will keep you posted about ways to continue to be involved!

          UPCOMING EVENTS         

Save the Date! On June 7th from 12pm-1pm CST, the Chapin Hall Center for Children and the National Council of State Legislatures will be hosting a web conference: Promoting Stability in Foster Care: Why Children Move and How to Minimize Disruptions.  Details about the event are available online.