January 6, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S83 

‘‘(C) the integration of Western medicine 

with complementary healing practices, including traditional Native Hawaiian healing 

practices; 

‘‘(D) the use of telehealth and telecommunications in— 

‘‘(i) chronic and infectious disease management; and 

‘‘(ii) health promotion and disease prevention; 

‘‘(E) the development of appropriate models of health care for Native Hawaiians and 

other indigenous people, including— 

‘‘(i) the provision of culturally competent 

health services; 

‘‘(ii) related activities focusing on wellness 

concepts; 

‘‘(iii) the development of appropriate 

kupuna care programs; and 

‘‘(iv) the development of financial mechanisms and collaborative relationships leading to universal access to health care; and 

‘‘(F) the establishment of— 

‘‘(i) a Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence for Nursing at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo; 

‘‘(ii) a Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence for Mental Health at the University of 

Hawai’i at Manoa; 

‘‘(iii) a Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence for Maternal Health and Nutrition at 

the Waimanalo Health Center; 

‘‘(iv) a Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence for Research, Training, Integrated 

Medicine at Molokai General Hospital; and 

‘‘(v) a Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence for Complementary Health and Health 

Education and Training at the Waianae 

Coast Comprehensive Health Center. 

‘‘(3) CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.—Papa Ola 

Lokahi, and any centers established under 

paragraph (2)(F), shall be considered to be 

qualified as Centers of Excellence under sections 485F and 903(b)(2)(A) of the Public 

Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 287c–32, 299a–1). 

‘‘(b) NONREDUCTION IN OTHER FUNDING.— 

The allocation of funds for demonstration 

projects under subsection (a) shall not result 

in any reduction in funds required by the Native Hawaiian health care systems, the Native Hawaiian Health Centers, the Native 

Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program, or 

Papa Ola Lokahi to carry out the respective 

responsibilities of those entities under this 

Act. 

‘‘SEC. 15. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

‘‘Nothing in this Act restricts the authority of the State to require licensing of, and 

issue licenses to, health practitioners. 

‘‘SEC. 16. COMPLIANCE WITH BUDGET ACT. 

‘‘Any new spending authority described in 

subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 401(c)(2) of 

the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 

U.S.C. 651(c)(2)) that is provided under this 

Act shall be effective for any fiscal year only 

to such extent or in such amounts as are provided for in Acts of appropriation. 

‘‘SEC. 17. SEVERABILITY. 

‘‘If any provision of this Act, or the application of any such provision to any person or 

circumstance, is determined by a court of 

competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the remainder of this Act, and the application of 

the provision to a person or circumstance 

other than that to which the provision is 

held invalid, shall not be affected by that 

holding.’’. 

By Mr. KERRY (for himself and 

Ms. SNOWE): 

S. 77. A bill to amend title XXI of the 

Social Security Act to provide for 

equal coverage of mental health services under the State Children’s Health 

Insurance Program; to the Committee 

on Finance. 

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, it is my 

great hope that Congress will move 

this year to see that the successful, bipartisan State Children’s Health Insurance Program, SCHIP, is allowed the 

opportunity to fulfill its promise to the 

low-income children of this country. 

For over 11 years it has provided, along 

with Medicaid, the type of meaningful 

and affordable health insurance coverage that each and every American 

child deserves. Yet there is much work 

to be done to improve this program, 

and the reauthorization of SCHIP gives 

us the opportunity to expand these successful programs to many of the nine 

million uninsured children in the country today, starting with the 6 million 

that are already eligible for public programs but not yet enrolled. 

While expanding coverage to the uninsured is our top priority, it is equally 

important to ensure that the types of 

benefits offered to our Nation’s children are quality services that are 

available when needed. Unfortunately, 

when it comes to mental health coverage, that is too often not the case 

today. Therefore, I am introducing 

today, along with Senator SNOWE, the 

Children’s Mental Health Parity Act 

which provides for equal coverage of 

mental health care for all children enrolled in the State Children’s Health 

Insurance Plan, SCHIP. This was 

passed as part of the SCHIP reauthorization last year, but unfortunately the 

bill was vetoed by President Bush. 

I am encouraged by the passage of 

the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici 

Mental Health Parity and Addiction 

Equity Act in October 2008. It is now 

time to extend the same parity in mental health coverage to our children 

that we give to adults. Mental illness is 

a critical problem for the young people 

in this country today. The numbers are 

startling. Mental disorders affect about 

one in five American children and up to 

9 percent of kids experience serious 

emotional disturbances that severely 

impact their functioning. Low-income 

children, those the SCHIP program is 

designed to cover, have the highest 

rates of mental health problems. 

Yet the sad reality is that an estimated 2⁄3 of all young people struggling 

with mental health disorders do not receive the care they need. We are failing 

our children when we do not provide 

appropriate treatment of mental 

health disorders. The consequences of 

this failure could not be more severe. 

Without early and effective intervention, affected children are less likely to 

do well in school and more likely to 

have compromised employment and 

earnings opportunities. Moreover, untreated mental illness may increase a 

child’s risk of coming into contact 

with the juvenile justice system. Finally, children with mental disorders 

are at a much higher risk for suicide. 

Unfortunately, many states’ SCHIP 

programs are not providing the type of 

mental health care coverage that our 

most vulnerable children deserve. 

Many States impose discriminatory 

limits on mental health care coverage 

that do not apply to medical and surgical care. These can include caps on 

coverage of inpatient days and outpatient visits, as well as cost and testing restrictions that impair the ability 

of our physicians to make the best 

judgments for our kids. 

The Children’s Mental Health Parity 

Act would prohibit discriminatory limits on mental health care in SCHIP 

plans by directing that any financial 

requirements or treatment limitations 

that apply to mental health or substance abuse services must be no more 

restrictive than the financial requirements or treatment limits that apply 

to other medical services. This bill 

would also eliminate a harmful provision in current law that authorizes 

states to lower the amount of mental 

health coverage they provide to children to just 75 percent of the coverage 

provided in other health care plans 

used by states. 

Many of the leading advocacy groups 

have endorsed the Children’s Mental 

Health Parity Act, including Mental 

Health America, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 

the Bazelon Center for Mental Health 

Law, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, The 

National Association for Children’s Behavioral Health, the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems, 

and the National Council for Community Behavioral Health care. 

America’s kids who are covered 

through SCHIP should be guaranteed 

that the mental health benefits they 

receive are just as comprehensive as 

those for medical and surgical care. It 

is no less important to care for our 

kids’ mental health, and this unfair 

and unwise disparity should no longer 

be acceptable. As we debate many important features of the SCHIP program 

during reauthorization, I look forward 

to working with colleagues on both 

sides of the aisle to see that this important, bipartisan measure receives 

the support that it deserves. 

By Mr. KERRY (for himself and 

Ms. SNOWE): 

S.78. A bill to amend the Internal 

Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a full 

exclusion for gain from certain small 

business stocks; to the Committee on 

Finance. 

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, our economy is in the midst of the worst economic downturn since since the Great 

Depression. We all realize that small 

businesses are the backbone of our 

economy. During these difficult times, 

many small businesses are having trouble accessing credit which leads to a 

decline in job creation and innovation. 

Many of our most successful corporations started as small businesses, including AOL, Apple Computer, Compac 

Computer, Datastream, Evergreen 

Solar, Intel Corporations, and Sun 

Microsystems. As you can see from this 

partial list, many of these companies 

played an integral role in making the 

Internet a reality. 


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