Obama Dares GOP for Mental Health Reforms
By The Hill 01/05/16 02:13 PM EST
听
President Obama is pressuring congressional Republicans to make good on their promise to fix the nation鈥檚 broken mental health system, which the GOP has frequently blamed for gun violence.
听
As part of his wide-reaching , Obama on Tuesday called for a half-billion dollars in new mental health spending, taunting the GOP on their failure to pass a mental health reform bill since pledging to do so in 2013.
听
鈥淔or those in Congress who so often rush to blame mental illness for mass shootings as a way of avoiding action on guns, here鈥檚 your chance to support these efforts. Put your money where your mouth is,鈥 Obama said during at the White House.
听
Unlike his other proposals, which will be made through executive actions, the $500 million allocation must come from Congress 鈥 something that Obama said Republicans should be feel obligated to support.
听
In a briefing after the speech, White House spokesman Josh Earnest reiterated that he doesn鈥檛 expect the GOP to support the funding request because the party is unwilling to support the president鈥檚 health efforts generally.
听
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to take seriously [Republican] claims that they鈥檙e actually interested in ensuring that people have access to mental healthcare,鈥 .
鈥淚f they are actually willing to work seriously with the administration to invest $500 million in expanding access to mental healthcare, I鈥檓 happy to be proved wrong,鈥 he said.
听
The remarks intend to push congressional Republicans who have pledged to strengthen the mental health system as an alternative to new restrictions on guns, but have been unable to coalesce around a plan.
听
GOP leaders first pledged to bolster the mental health system in 2013, shortly after the shooting in Newtown, Conn. Since then, Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) has struggled to gain widespread support for his mental health bill, though it has gained momentum in recent months.
Murphy鈥檚 office did not immediately provide a reaction to Obama鈥檚 proposal.