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[Pages S5897-S5898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
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SENATE RESOLUTION 726--HONORING ROSALYNN SMITH CARTER'S 50 YEARS OF
MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY
Mr. PERDUE (for himself, Mrs. Loeffler, and Mr. Murphy) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary:
S. Res. 726
Whereas Rosalynn Smith Carter, since 1970, when her
husband, future President of the United States Jimmy Carter,
was a candidate for Governor of Georgia, has been a leading
advocate for raising awareness about mental health and the
ability of people with mental health disorders to recover and
live happy and fulfilling lives;
Whereas Mrs. Carter emerged as a national driving force for
mental health when, during Jimmy Carter's presidential
administration, Mrs. Carter became the active honorary chair
of the President's Commission on Mental Health;
Whereas the work of President Carter's Commission on Mental
Health resulted in passage of the Mental Health Systems Act
of 1980, which offered reforms to publicly-funded mental
health programs;
Whereas, in 1982, President and Mrs. Carter founded The
Carter Center, which is dedicated to improving the quality of
life for people in the United States and in the developing
world through programs that promote peace and health;
Whereas, from 1985 to 2016, Mrs. Carter hosted the annual
Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy, bringing
together national leaders in the mental health community to
discuss a specific topic each year, including promoting
access to appropriate and affordable behavioral health care
services, improving the quality of such services, and
reducing the stigma and isolation associated with mental
health disorders and substance use disorders;
Whereas The Carter Center's Mental Health Program,
established in 1990 and continuing under the leadership and
guidance of Mrs. Carter, strives to build consensus in
[[Page S5898]]
order to effect positive change in mental health and
substance use policy and systems, with a focus on vulnerable
populations, including children and the elderly;
Whereas, in 1996, Mrs. Carter established the Rosalynn
Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, which have
provided training and support to more than 220 journalists in
the United States and abroad to report accurately and
sensitively about and reduce the stigma surrounding mental
health disorders, mental health care, mental health law and
policy, and related issues;
Whereas Mrs. Carter, in 2008, played a key role in
supporting the passage of the Paul Wellstone and Pete
Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which
helps ensure that mental health disorders and substance use
disorders are covered by insurance at parity with other
illnesses;
Whereas Mrs. Carter, who has long been a champion of the
physical and mental health, strength, and resilience of
family caregivers, established the Rosalynn Carter Institute
for Caregiving in 1987, where she continues to serve as
President of the Board of Directors;
Whereas, throughout Mrs. Carter's 50 years of advocacy for
mental health, she has been an effective champion for the
elimination of stigma and discrimination against people with
mental health disorders, which are among the most common
health conditions around the world; and
Whereas, at 93 years of age, Mrs. Carter continues her
devoted work to improving the lives of those affected by
mental health disorders and substance use disorders in the
United States and around the world: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) hereby expresses its profound gratitude, on behalf of
the people of the United States, to Rosalynn Smith Carter for
her lifetime of accomplishments and commitment on behalf of
those affected by mental health disorders and substance use
disorders;
(2) recognizes, praises, and appreciates the improvements
in wellbeing and the betterment of society Mrs. Carter's
contributions have engendered; and
(3) encourages all people of the United States to follow
Mrs. Carter's example of putting compassion into action
through a lifetime of service to humanity.
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