Stopping the Mental Health Pandemic Act

Lobbying to improve the health and wellbeing of veterans through legislation including the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Location Act (H.R. 1115, S. 535) to authorize the location of a memorial on the National Mall to commemorate and honor the members of the Armed Forces that served on active duty in support of the Global War on Terrorism; the Major Richard Star Act (H.R. 1282, S. 344), to expand eligibility to certain military retirees for concurrent receipt of veterans disability compensation and retired pay or combat-related special compensation; the K2 Veterans Care Act of 2021 (H.R. 1355, 454), to provide health care and benefits to veterans who were exposed to toxic substances while serving as members of the Armed Forces at Karshi Khanabad Air Base, Uzbekistan; the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act (H.R. 1448, S. 613), to create a pilot program focused on service dog training for veterans; the Toxic Exposure in the American Military (TEAM) Act (S. 927, H.R. 2127), to expand health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances; the Korean American VALOR Act (H.R. 234), to expand VA services to certain individuals who fought in the Korean War; the COVENANT Act of 2021 (H.R. 2368), to establish a presumption of service connection for illnesses associated with exposure to certain airborne hazards; the Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act (S. 952, H.R. 2372), to establish presumption of service connection for veterans deployed during the GWOT or Gulf War and who suffer from a qualifying health condition; the Equal Access to Contraception Act (H.R. 239), to eliminate copayments for contraceptives furnished by the Veterans Health Administration; the Jennifer Kepner HOPE Act (H.R. 2432), to provide for the eligibility of certain individuals exposed to burn pits for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care furnished by VA; the Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act (H.R. 2433), to take actions necessary to ensure that certain individuals may update the burn pit registry with a registered individuals cause of death; the Veterans Burn Pit Exposure Recognition Act (S. 437, H.R. 2436), to formally recognize that post-9/11 veterans who served near burn pits were exposed to airborne hazards and toxins; the Sgt. Brandon Ketchum Rural Veterans Mental Health Act (H.R. 2441, S. 1468), to extend VA mental health services in rural areas and provide additional research; the Veterans Agent Orange Exposure Equity Act (H.R. 2569) to provide for a presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents for veterans who served in close proximity to the Republic of Vietnam; the Women Veterans Transitional Residence Utilizing Support and Treatment (TRUST) Act (H.R. 344), to improve women-specific rehabilitation programs for substance use disorders; the Veteran Employment Recovery Act (H.R. 3582), to increase work opportunity tax credits associated with certain veterans; the Honoring our PACT Act of 2021 (H.R 3967), to improve health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances; the Stopping the Mental Health Pandemic Act (H.R. 588) to address behavioral health needs caused by the public health emergency declared with respect to COVID-19; the Veterans Expedited TSA Screening (VETS) Safe Travel Act (H.R. 855) to provide PreCheck to certain severely injured or disabled veterans; the Homeless Veterans CREDIT Act (H.R 1257), to conduct a study on the effect of financial and credit counseling for homeless veterans and veterans experiencing housing instability; the Vet Center Improvement Act (S. 1944), to improve mental health treatment and staffing quality at VA Vet Centers; the SERVICE Act of 2021, to provide mammography screening for veterans who served in locations associated with toxic exposure; the Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act of 2021 (S. 565), a bill to assist veterans stationed at Enewetak Atoll suffering from toxic exposure illnesses; the Protecting Moms Who Served Act (H.R. 958, S. 796), to codify and improve the VA Maternity Care Coordination program; draft legislation to improve VA's clothing allowance program for veterans with prosthetics; draft legislation to provide grants for 501(c)19 veteran service organizations to help repair buildings; draft legislation to protect the individual unemployability (IU) VA benefit from future pay-for options; draft legislation to place a plaque in the Capitol Visitor Center to honor veterans of all generations; draft legislation to require VA to establish a plan to reduce its FOIA backlog; and draft legislation to create a pilot program to reduce costs for VA medical foster homes.

Client expense: $40,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE

H.R. 586, the STANDUP Act of 2021 H.R. 588/ S. 165, the Stopping the Mental Health Pandemic Act H.R 593 / S. 135, the Coronavirus Mental Health and Addiction Assistance Act of 2021 H.R. 666/ S. 162, the Anti-Racism in Public Health Act H.R. 721, the Mental Health Services for Students Act H.R. 909/ S. 484, the MOMS Matter Act H.R. 958, the Protecting Moms Who Served Act H.R. 959/ S. 346, the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act H.R. 1195, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act H.R. 1205, the Improving Mental Health Access from the Emergency Department Act of 2021 H.R. 1309/S. 194, the SERVE Act H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act H.R. 1324/ S. 467, the Effective Suicide Screening and Assessment in the Emergency Department Act of 2021 H.R. 1331, the Strengthening Mental Health Supports for BIPOC Communities Act H.R. 1368, the Mental Health Justice Act H.R. 1400, the COVID-19 Health Disparities Action Act of 2021 H.R. 1475/ S. 1795, the Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act H.R. 1480, the HERO Act H.R. 1554, grants for community-based mental health and substance use disorder services H.R. 1587/ S. 1783, the Medicare Audiologist Access and Services Act of 2021 H.R. 1667/ S. 610, the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act H.R. 1716/ S. 631, the Covid-19 Mental Health Research Act H.R. 1735/ S. 646, the Stabilize Medicaid and CHIP Coverage Act of 2021 H.R. 1803, grants for suicide prevention and mental health in high schools H.R. 1843/ S. 937, the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act H.R. 2255/S. 1024, the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act H.R. 2256, the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2021 (S. 834, the Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2021) H.R. 2264/ S. 660, the Telemental Health Improvement Act H.R. 2767/ S. 2144, the Promoting Effective and Empowering Recovery Services (PEERS) in Medicare Act H.R. 2862, the Campaign to Prevent Suicide Act H.R. 2903/S. 1512, the CONNECT for Health Act of 2021 H.R. 2955, the Suicide Prevention Act H.R. 2981, the Suicide Prevention Lifeline Improvement Act of 2021 H.R. 2973, the Strengthening Americas Families Act (SAFA) of 2021 H.R. 3150/S. 1578, the Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act of 2021 H.R. 3441/S. 1483, the Opioid Workforce Act H.R. 3447, the Permanency for Audio-Only Telehealth Act H.R. 3450/S. 1727, the Medicaid Bump Act H.R.3467, the Improving Data Collection for Adverse Childhood Experiences Act H.R. 3541/ S. 1810, the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act H.R. 3753/ S. 1962, the Parity Implementation Assistance Act H.R. 3755/S. 1975, the Womens Health Protection Act H.R. 4058/ S. 2061, the Telemental Health Care Access Act (Matsui/Cassidy? CHeck) H.R. 4305, the Crisis CareEnhancement Act H.Res.151, Condemning all forms of anti-Asian sentiment as related to COVID-19 H.R. 8084, the Lethal Means Safety Training Act S. 168, the TREAT Act S.176, the Ensuring Understanding of COVID-19 to Protect Public Health Act S.662, the ATTAIN Mental Health Act S. 2086, the Resilience Investment, Support, and Expansion (RISE) from Trauma Act S. 2069, the Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Act The Collaborative Care Model

Client expense: $110,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Executive Office of the President (EOP), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Labor, Dept of (DOL), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE

Lobbying to improve the health and wellbeing of veterans through legislation including the Stopping the Mental Health Pandemic Act (H.R. 588) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to States, political subdivisions of States, Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations, community-based entities, and primary care and behavioral health organizations to address behavioral health needs caused by the public health emergency declared with respect to COVID-19; the Improving Mental Health Access from the Emergency Department Act (H.R. 1205) to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to award grants to implement innovative approaches to securing prompt access to appropriate follow-on care for individuals who experience an acute mental health episode and present for care in an emergency department; the Effective Suicide Screening and Assessment in the Emergency Department Act (H.R. 1324, S. 467) to amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a program to improve the identification, assessment, and treatment of patients in hospital emergency departments who are at risk of suicide; the Helping Emergency Responders Overcome (HERO) Act (H.R. 1480) to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to improve the detection, prevention, and treatment of mental health issues among public safety officers; the Suicide Prevention Lifeline Improvement Act (H.R. 4564) to amend the Public Health Service Act to ensure the provision of high-quality service through the Suicide Prevention Lifeline; the CONNECT for Health Act (H.R. 4932) to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to expand access to telehealth services; and the Suicide Prevention Act (H.R. 5619) to authorize a pilot program to expand and intensify surveillance of self-harm in partnership with State and local public health departments, to establish a grant program to provide self-harm and suicide prevention services in hospital emergency departments.

Client expense: $40,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE