Mental Health

House members probing U.S. mental healthcare in light of the Newtown, Conn., shooting have asked government investigators to review federal grants and programs designed to assist the severely mentally ill.

Reps. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), who lead the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Friday to report back with a special study on federal investments in mental health.

Murphy and DeGette expressed special interest in grants issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and how they are overseen. 

The Obama administration took a step forward Monday in its commitment to reducing the stigma of mental illness in the United States. At a White House conference, several hundred experts, advocates and lawmakers met to discuss public policy solutions for changing attitudes toward psychological disorders and expanding access to treatment.

Easing negative attitudes toward mental illness has been high on the administration's priority list amid a mounting list of mass shootings across the country. Monday's conference was planned as part of the White House's wider strategy for reducing gun violence, outlined in a list of executive actions the president can pursue without congressional approval.

"Struggling with a mental illness or caring for someone who does can be isolating," President Obama told the assembled experts and advocates on Monday. "We want to let people living with mental health challenges know that they are not alone."

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"We want to let people living with mental health challenges know that they are not alone,” the president said.

The Obama administration will hold a conference on mental health issues and reducing the stigma of mental illness Monday at the White House.

The event follows President Obama's commitment in February to launch a national dialogue on mental illness in light of recent mass shootings.

The conference will include remarks from Obama and Vice President Biden as well as sessions moderated by Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. 

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President Obama will host a conference on mental health issues and reducing the stigma of mental illness on Monday at the White House.

Obama called for a national dialogue on mental illness earlier this year after a string of mass shootings shocked the nation. Monday's event is part of the administration's wider campaign against gun violence.

The summit will include remarks from Obama and Vice President Biden. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, tapped to lead the administration's efforts on mental health, will moderate two sessions.

Twenty-one California Democrats have asked the Obama administration to investigate reports that mental health centers in Nevada are dumping their mental patients across state lines.

The letter, led by Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.), is a response to a Sacramento Bee story that said Nevada clinics are putting psychiatric patients on buses with one-way tickets to California. They noted reports that as many as 1,500 patients have been dumped, which also burdens California with treatment costs.

Jamaican authorities have agreed to extradite convicted scammers who prey on American seniors following a Senate probe, the U.S. ambassador to Kingston said.

The promise follows a hearing by the Senate's aging panel last month into scams that fool seniors into handing over money in exchange for a bigger pay-off in the form of fictitious lottery winnings. The scam has hit the home states of chairman Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and ranking member Susan Collins (R-Maine) particularly hard.

The Jamaican Senate passed legislation shortly after the hearing to prosecute the scammers, who fleece American seniors of an estimated $1 billion a year. The United States is Jamaica's biggest trade partner and its main source of tourists, making good relations between the two countries crucial.

The Senate voted 95-2 for an amendment to the gun control bill that would address mental health issues.

The amendment, introduced by Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), expands federal mental health programs, including in education, suicide prevention, substance abuse and trauma centers.

A prominent House subcommittee is asking the Obama administration to assist its review of U.S. mental health policy by providing a comprehensive list of all programs and research projects that address the topic.

Reps. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) wrote to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Wednesday as part of an effort to study and better coordinate the U.S. mental healthcare system following the Newtown, Conn., shooting late last year. 

The two lead the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. 

President Obama's budget proposal asks Congress for $30 million to study gun violence, restoring research that Congress has blocked for years.

Obama proposed $10 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study gun violence, and another $20 million to expand the National Violent Death Reporting System to all 50 states.

Obama directed the CDC to resume its studies of gun violence in January, as part of 23 executive actions aimed at curbing gun violence while Congress debates further-reaching gun control.