House Speaker Paul Ryan wants Congress to help “overhaul” the mental healthcare system with legislation he believes will help combat mass shootings.
Ryan, R-Wis., said a bill sponsored by Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., should be “a priority” and would help “protect our citizens” against the kind of shootings that have killed dozens of people in the past few years.
Many of the shootings, including last week’s Planned Parenthood attack in Colorado Springs, Colo., were carried out by men who have been deemed mentally ill or appear to be mentally ill.
“Clearly, we can do more,” Ryan told reporters after meeting the GOP conference in the Capitol basement. “And one common denominator in these tragedies is mental illness. That’s why we need to look at fixing our nation’s mental illness health system.”
Ryan pointed to mental health legislation sponsored Murphy that he suggested might advance quickly in the House.
According to Murphy, his legislation “breaks down federal barriers to care, clarifies privacy standards for families and caregivers, reforms outdated programs … and invests in services for the most difficult to treat cases while driving evidence-based care.”
In the Senate, Rep. John Cornyn, the majority whip, has also sponsored mental health legislation, endorsed by the National Rifle Association, which he said would enhance the nation’s background check system for gun purchases “without expanding it” and give local communities more tools to identify and treat potentially dangerous and mentally ill individuals.
