DeLauro Keynotes 19th Birmingham Health Care Employment Tribute

Calls for Greater Focus On, More Resources for MentalHealth Care

NEW HAVEN, CT—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) was thekeynote speaker for today's 19^th Birmingham Health Care (BHcare)Employment Tribute. Every year BHcare honors an employer who hires individualswith significant disabilities and an employee who has received their services.

DeLauro's remarks focused on the federal budget and itsimpact on employment and individuals with mental health challenges. She is thesenior Democrat on the subcommittee responsible for funding the Department ofHealth and Human Services.

The following remarks are as prepared for delivery:

"Good afternoon everyone. It is great to be here with you,on the first day of Mental Health Month.

"First, I want to thank Stephanie and everyone at the BHcareBusiness Advisory Council for inviting me to join you today. And thank you foryour crucial support of BHcare and its Employment Program.

"For over 30 years, BHcare, along with Birmingham GroupHealth Services and Harbor Health Services, has been working to help those inour community affected by mental illness, domestic violence, and substanceabuse.

"Their Employment Program is a key component to addressingthese issues, by helping people recover from disabling situations by findinggood, productive jobs once again.

"I understand the hard work and support of local businesseshas helped over 500 men and women with disabilities to find work over theyears. Thank you for making such a difference. As one of my heroes, ShirleyChisholm once said, ‘Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living onthis Earth.' You are paying the rent!

"I also want to acknowledge and congratulate today's awardrecipients – the team at McDonalds on Division Street, the Employer of theYear, which has made an outstanding effort to hire people with significantdisabilities, and Julie Chase, the Employee of the Year, who has taken advantageof BHcare's services to find employment with the City of Shelton, and has beenworking over the past year. Congratulations!

"Finally, I want to thank all of the mental health anddisability advocates here today. This is vital work you are doing. It is becauseof the concerted effort of dedicated professionals like you that the prejudicesand misconceptions that have so long accompanied mental health have at lastbegun to change.

"Mental health problems are as real an illness as diabetesor cancer. In fact, they are the leading cause of disability in America.And because of the hard work you and others put in, day after day, those whosuffer from mental illness no longer must be confined to the shadows ofsociety.

"It is no longer a shameful secret – it is something we cantalk about and seek treatment for. And today, there are treatments for diseaseswhich only a few decades ago seemed beyond the grasp of modern medicine.

"I always feel fortunate that our district has so many firstrate institutions that do remarkable work in this field. Along with BHcare,other mental health leaders in our community include the Yale Child StudyCenter, Clifford Beers, the Connecticut Mental Health Center Foundation, theYale-NH Psychiatric Hospital, Bridges, the Connecticut Valley Hospital, theWest Haven VA, and so many others. All are working to support the mental healthof families, children, veterans, and workers in our region.

"This work is particularly important in an economy like theone we have faced for the past several years, when millions of families acrossthe country are struggling to get by, and millions of workers are feeling thestresses of unemployment and poverty.

"Right now, the national unemployment rate is unacceptablyhigh at 7.7 percent. Poverty is at 15 percent, the highest it has beensince 1993. Nearly 50 million Americans, including over 16 millionchildren, are struggling with hunger. They are not sure where their next mealis coming from. One in nine mortgages is still delinquent or in foreclosure.

"Unfortunately, having a job does not necessarily safeguardfamilies from these challenges. For families across the board, personal incomeand home values are down, while the costs of basic needs – particularly gasprices and food prices – are up. And according to a recent report by FirstFocus, one in three working families in America are not making enough toguarantee a decent living standard.

"These are families who are working every single day, andare still not bringing home enough to support their families. 40 percent of allour children – 30 million American kids – are in families caught in thisprecarious position.

"Compounding all the stresses caused by unemployment,poverty, and a declining living standard is the sense among many families thatthe economy is changing, and leaving many workers behind. Connecticut,for example, has always been a center for manufacturing. But despite recent improvements,we have seen a huge loss in these jobs because of trends like low labor costsoverseas, the rise of China as a low wage manufacturer that has skirted globaltrade rules and manipulated its currency, and high energy costs at home

"All these stresses from this economy have a direct impacton the mental health of workers and families, and lead to higher incidents ofanxiety, depression, substance abuse, and other mental health issues.

"For example, even before the recession, women's economicsecurity was precarious. Half of women are in jobs without retirement plans.They are one third more likely to be in sub-prime mortgages. And one third ofwomen are living in poverty.

"And women have been suffering the effects of this falteringeconomy with particular force and poignancy. Even though women are over half ofthe public workforce, they have experienced 84 percent of the public sector joblosses during the recovery. They lost most of the jobs, even as men arestarting to gain them back. And they are paid 77 cents on the dollar comparedto men for the same work.

"So it is no accident that women are twice as likely to bediagnosed with depression and anxiety disorders, and twice as likely toexperience trauma-related symptoms, as men. Low-income, urban,African-American and Hispanic women – who make even less compared to man – areat both the highest risk for mental illness and the least likely to receivetreatment.

"We also see the impact of these economic stresses onchildren in low-income households. Each year more than a million children areabused or neglected. Kids who have fallen into poverty in this recessionare 20 percent more likely to suffer health problems than their more fortunatepeers. And, without adequate nutrition, they will see even more undue limitsimposed on their full potential. We are talking about a lost generation ofAmericans.

"So it is all the more important that we support the mentalhealth services that can help families at this time. Unfortunately, in manyways we are moving in the wrong direction.

"If you adjust for inflation and population growth, thebudget of the Department of Health and Human Services has already been cut byover $4 billion, or 5.4 percent, since 2002. Now we have the deepautomatic cuts known as the sequester that went into effect on March 1. Thiswill mean an additional $3.7 billion in cuts at HHS.

"These sequester cuts come on top of $1.5 trillion more incuts already agreed to as a result of the spending caps included in the BudgetControl Act, passed to raise the debt ceiling in 2011. These cuts, by 2021,will cut per-capita inflation adjusted spending at HHS by over $4 billion, oranother 5.4 percent compared to 2012 levels.

"In terms of support for mental health services, federalfunding for mental health was cut by $115 million from fiscal year 2011 to thisyear, which is an 11 percent cut, in just two years.

"On top of that is the across the board cut known assequestration – which cut more than $22 million from the mental health blockgrants, $2 million from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, just over$ 9 million from substance abuse prevention, and $20 million from substanceabuse treatment programs of regional and national significance. This isall coming at a time when mental health agencies are serving more people withmental illnesses.

"Today, public mental health agencies are serving nearlyseven million Americans, which is an increase of 10 percent over the numberserved in 2008. And while the President has requested a $130 millionincrease for mental health services in the next fiscal year, the budget climatein DC makes this negligible increase in funding a heavy lift.

"Due to significant budget crises, cuts are happening at thestate level as well – more than $4 billion has been cut from mental healthfunding since 2009. More than 4,400 psychiatric hospital beds have beenclosed over this period. And over 40 percent of surveyed statemental health agencies have said that budget cuts forced the reduction orelimination of mental health care for individuals that did not have Medicaid orinsurance coverage.

"I for one think it is unacceptable that more than 60percent of adults and 80 percent of kids who need mental health services do notreceive treatment. And these spending cuts we are making are not just bad forfamilies; they are bad for economic growth.

"For example, along with helping us to discover newtreatments for mental health disorders, biomedical research is an increasinglystrong driver of job creation in our district. Every NIH research grant awardedresults in seven new jobs. And every single dollar of NIH funding results intwo dollars of business activity and economic impact. That is a 100 percentreturn on investment.

"And yet we have been cutting funding for medical research.Since 2002, the purchasing power of NIH has been cut by $1.2 billion. Now thesequester means an additional $1.5 billion stripped from NIH. That meanslayoffs, less research grants, and a slower pace for important scientificresearch.

"This is but a small sample of the negative impact ofsequestration, which is also slashing other critical needs like providingeducational opportunities for our children and job training for our workers. That is why we need a balanced solution to end this misguided policy, andpursue a budget that will create jobs and help families get back on theirfeet.

"So on the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Educationappropriations subcommittee on which I serve, I am continually fighting to makethe critical investments that help families, create jobs, and grow the economy.That includes ensuring that mental health services and workforce developmentefforts are adequately funded.

"I also worked hard to make sure that the health reforms wepassed in 2010 make our health care system more inclusive of those with mentalhealth needs. For example, the Affordable Care Act requires that essentialbenefits plans in the Exchanges going into effect next year, as well as underMedicaid, to include mental health and substance abuse disorder services.

"It lowered the cost of psychotherapeutic drugs by expandingthose eligible in the discount program of the Public Health Service Act. It includes grant programs to improve and expand our mental and behavioralhealth workforce.

"It authorizes funding for demonstration projects thatprovide coordinated care to individuals that suffer from both mental illnessand a primary care condition or chronic disease. And it expands the federalmental health parity law to include the individual and small group market –thus putting mental health on a level playing field with other health needs.

"All of this is critical. Because it is about time oursystem recognizes the need for more inclusive, more integrated care for bothphysical and mental health needs.

"And there is more we can do. Just as a bad economy resultsin more stress and anxiety for families, creating jobs and getting more peopleback to work – as you do here at BHcare – will help reduce rates of anxiety,depression, and other mental health issues. So instead of cutting so deeplyinto discretionary spending, I believe we should be using our budget as avehicle for growth.

"There is no better way to defeat the deficit and get ournation back on track than growing the economy and getting people working again.If the economy were to grow one percentage point more than expected in eachyear over the next ten, the deficit would shrink by more than $3 trillion.

"That is the way forward to bring both American families andour economy back to good health. Thank you so much."