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Senate HELP Committee Votes in Favor of Parity

February 14, 2007

Correction:  Earlier we erroneously reported that Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee voted against the bill, and that Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma voted in favor of the bill. In fact, Sen. Alexander voted for the bill, and Sen. Coburn voted against it. We express our deepest apologies for this error.

On February 14, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee (HELP) voted 18-3 in favor of S.558, the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007. NAMI congratulates Committee Chairman Edward M. Kennedy (MA) and Ranking Member Michael Enzi (WY) for their leadership in bringing this measure to the full Senate. After the vote, Sen. Kennedy indicated that he will push for full Senate action on the bill within the next few months.

The following senators voted in favor of S.558. NAMI Advocates are encouraged to contact their offices to thank them for voting to end insurance discrimination against people with mental illness and their families.

Edward Kennedy, MA
Christopher Dodd, CT
Tom Harkin, IA
Barbara A. Mikulski, MD
Jeff Bingaman, NM
Patty Murray, WA
Jack Reed, RI
Hillary Rodham Clinton, NY
Barack Obama, IL
Bernard Sanders, VT
Sherrod Brown, OH
Michael B. Enzi, WY
Judd Gregg, NH
Johnny Isakson, GA
Lisa Murkowski, AK
Orrin G. Hatch, UT
Pat Roberts, KS
Lamar Alexander, TN

The following senators voted against S. 558. NAMI advocates are encouraged to contact them and urge them to support the bill when it comes to the full Senate.

Wayne Allard, CO
Tom Coburn, M.D., OK
Richard Burr, NC

To learn more about S.558 and to contact your Senator, click here.

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