E-News for Congressman Tim Murphy

A Note from Congressman Murphy
2016 Accomplishments
Priorities for 2017

On December 13, 2016, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act was signed into law.

Dear Friends,

As we look towards a new year with a new Congress and new President, I’m excited to get back to business for my constituents and the American people. My top priorities will be fixing the broken healthcare law to bring down the outrageous cost of insurance coverage and deliver better care, drafting better trade deals to keep it Made in America, improving and expanding care for veterans, bringing back our lagging coal industry and bolstering our national security. Thank you for partnering with me to bring solutions to Southwestern Pennsylvanian families and my very best wishes to you for a peaceful and prosperous 2017.

Happy new year!

2016 Accomplishments

The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act: Among the many other desperately-needed reforms, this new law invests in services for the most difficult-to-treat cases, ensures family members are a part of the care delivery team, provides training for law enforcement officers on how to best respond to a potentially violent situation when responding to cases involving seriously mentally ill, expands the mental health workforce, and for the first time ever, Congress is stepping in to address eating disorders so patients can get access to real medical care. H.R. 2646 SIGNED INTO LAW!

New resources to fight the opioid epidemic: Nearly $1 billion in new resources are now available for states to tackle the growing opioid and heroin epidemic through prevention and treatment, improving prescription drug monitoring programs, training for health care providers and expanding access to recovery programs. S. 34 SIGNED INTO LAW!

Strengthening trade enforcement: The Congressional Steel Caucus delivered the tools for our government to fight back against illegal trading practices used by foreign cheaters squarely aimed to destroy American steel and manufacturing. H.R. 1295 & H.R. 644 SIGNED INTO LAW!

Improving Veterans Mental Healthcare: The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act requires an annual review and continual improvements to VA & DoD programs to help soldiers recover from post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury. It also directs the VA to hire additional psychiatrists to fill the shortage gap and establishes programs to help soldiers transition back into civilian life and access mental health services. H.R. 203 SIGNED INTO LAW!

Priorities for 2017

FIXING BROKEN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
The Affordable Care Act is anything but affordable. We were promised insurance premiums would decline by $2,500 per year; instead, average premiums in job-based coverage increased by $3,775! Pennsylvanians were hit with a whopping 53% increase – one of the highest premium spikes in the country. We need real reforms to reverse out-of-control costs to get coverage that’s affordable, portable and fits each individual's needs: more choices, access to coverage for every American so that no one is turned away, and protect Medicare for today's seniors and future generations.

BUILDING ON CRISIS MENTAL HEALTH REFORMS  
Desperately needed reforms from my Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act are now law but we know we have more work to do for families in need: investing in more inpatient care for serious mental illness and serious substance abuse disorders, removing barriers to integrating behavioral healthcare into the rest of the healthcare system, and ensuring families and caregivers are continuing to be brought into the care delivery team.

REBUILDING OUR COAL & ENERGY ECONOMY
Over the past 8 years, President Obama has made good on his promise to bankrupt coal in America. With his countless Executive Orders and EPA regulations, he’s shuttered power plants, laid off coal workers and stripped them of their hard earned healthcare and pensions. As an active member of the Congressional Coal Caucus, our agenda will advance policies benefitting coal miners, their families, and the millions of Americans who depend on coal for affordable and reliable electricity. Working with President-Elect Trump, who has promised a resurgence of clean coal, we’ll invest in coal’s strong future.

CRAFTING BETTER TRADE DEALS 
As Chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, I’ll be laser-focused on bringing back steel and manufacturing jobs to Southwestern Pennsylvania and the country. Working closely with the incoming President and his newly-formed White House National Trade Council, we will undo the terrible deals of the past and put the U.S. steel economy on sound footing to keep it Made in America. 

IMPROVING AND EXPANDING CARE FOR VETERANS 
Southwestern Pennsylvania is home to thousands of veterans, and while we have made strides to deliver the best services for our heroes, we need to keep following through on our promises to deliver high-quality healthcare and meet the needs of those who dedicated their lives to protecting our freedoms. We’ll demand accountability from the Veterans Administration so they bring personalized team-based care to veterans, respond quickly to veterans’ claims and ensure every returning veteran has access to mental healthcare to heal their invisible wounds of war. 

STRENGTHENING NATIONAL SECURITY
America’s strength is grounded in standing firm on our commitments to our allies and following through on our warnings to our enemies. The past Administration created instability by drawing lines in the sand, only to backtrack soon thereafter. We’ll reverse the trend that has left America's position weakened in the global security arena and ensure we prevail in the war against radical Islamic extremism, keep terrorists out of America, secure our borders, stop cyber-attacks, and defend our freedoms both at home and abroad.