Lawmaker bemoans lack of progress on mental health one year after Tucson shooting

The shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) one year ago in Tucson, Ariz., sparked a "hue and cry about mental health" but little progress on the issue" has been made, the co-chairwoman of the Congressional Mental Health Caucus tells The Hill.

Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) in particular said she regrets that her legislation to fund mental health services in public schools went nowhere. The Mental Health in Schools Act would have authorized $200 million in competitive grants to provide mental health professionals in 200 or so public schools, but never got a committee hearing.

"What happened in Tucson may not have been avoidable, but we need to ask ourselves what we can do to hopefully prevent young people with mental health issues from slipping through the cracks in the future," Napolitano said in an email. "Mental health should not be political, especially for our youngsters, but unfortunately it does sometimes become a political football."

Napolitano did identify some silver linings: she helped organize a briefing to raise awareness among lawmakers and their staffers about mental health issues, requested more competitive pay for military mental health professionals in the defense authorization bill and successfully lobbied the White House with Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) to issue condolence letters to the families of soldiers who die by suicide.

Napolitano also led a letter to House leaders that helped pare down cuts to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the omnibus spending bill from $212 million to just $33 million, preventing $179 million in cuts.

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