METAIRIE – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, led a field hearing in Jefferson Parish, LA on improving treatment for mental health and substance use disorders. In recognition of Cassidy’s efforts to better Americans’ mental health, the Treatment Communities of America recognized him with the Charlie Devlin Award for Excellence after the hearing.
“Everyone knows in their family or among their friends someone who is having an issue with serious mental illness,” said Dr. Cassidy. “I practiced medicine for 25 years in the Louisiana Charity Hospital system, and I don’t have to tell you that mental health and physical health is linked.”
“Let’s treat every wound; both visible and invisible,” continued Dr. Cassidy.
As the first physician to chair the HELP Committee, Cassidy is a longtime leader in Congress for strengthening mental health services. President Trump recently signed into law Cassidy’s SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act, which bolsters prevention, treatment, and recovery services for Americans with substance use disorders and mental illness. The President also signed into law Cassidy’s HALT Fentanyl Act, which gives law enforcement another tool to combat drug cartels by permanently scheduling fentanyl-related substances (FRS) as Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act.
The witnesses included:
Arthur Kleinschmidt, former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Arlington, VA
Lonnie Granier, Policy and Advocacy Manager, Odyssey House Louisiana Inc., New Orleans, LA
Nick Richard, Executive Director, National Alliance on Mental Illness Southeast Louisiana, Mandeville, LA
Stuart Archer, Chief Executive Officer, Oceans Healthcare, Lafayette, LA
Tonja R. Myles, Chief Executive Officer, Set Free Indeed Ministry, Baton Rouge, LA
Click here to watch the OS.
Click here to watch the full hearing.
Cassidy’s opening remarks as prepared for delivery can be found below:
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will please come to order.
Everyone knows someone struggling with their mental health.
We are living at a time when we are “more connected” to each other than ever before, yet we’re lonelier and more depressed.
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for teens and young adults.
1 in 5 adults experience mental illness. More than half of them do not get treatment.
These aren’t just numbers; these are our children, parents, friends, neighbors, loved ones.
Together, we’ve already made progress. The landmark 21st Century Cures Act included major mental health reforms that I championed. The legislation coordinated fragmented mental health resources across the federal government, provided resources to address serious mental illness, strengthened mental health parity, and provided supports for mental health courts and crisis intervention teams. I led the bipartisan renewal effort of that law, which supported the uptake of evidence-based collaborative care models and crisis supports.
As someone who practiced medicine for over 25 years, I can tell you physical health and mental health are often linked. You must look at both; see the patient as a whole.
And substance use disorder’s impact extends well beyond the patient. It affects families, communities, workplaces and society. The SUPPORT Act helped curb the devastation by bolstering prevention, treatment, and recovery services. I recently led the law’s reauthorization to further build on those reforms, including providing guidance to states on how to target block grant dollars to help those with the most serious needs.
Drug overdoses, largely driven by fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, are the leading cause of death among young adults 18 to 45 years old. And from 2022 to 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized record amounts of this deadly poison—nearly 50,000 pounds— that is enough to produce more than 2 billion lethal doses. It’s unacceptable.
I thank President Trump for signing my HALT Fentanyl Act, which protects Americans from fentanyl-related substances.
It gives law enforcement tools to combat the opioid crisis and go after the criminals flooding our communities with deadly drugs.
But it’s not just about stopping the drug dealers. It’s about supporting people dealing with their illness and putting them on the road to recovery.
Let’s treat every wound—both visible and invisible wounds.
I thank our witnesses for being here and for their commitment to improving treatment for mental health and substance use disorders.
With that, I will introduce them to provide their testimony.
###
For all news and updates from HELP Republicans, visit our website or Twitter at @GOPHELP.