Mental Health Act of 1977
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Mental Health Act of 1977 - Title I: Mental Health Benefits - Entitles residents and non-resident citizens to mental health benefits under this Act. Enumerates mental health services covered by this Act, stipulating that payments for such services shall be made by the Secretary of Health and Human Services on the recipient's behalf. Sets forth qualifications of psychiatric hospitals for participation in the program under this Act, including the provision of active diagnostic, therapeutic, and rehabilitative services, and accreditation by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospitals. Directs that the program under this Act be administered by the Secretary with the advice and assistance of a Committe on Mental Health responsible for approval of all providers under this Act and the establishment of relevant guidelines and qualifications. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study of the feasibility of establishing a national program of mental health insurance and to submit a report of the findings to the President and Congress. Creates on the books of the Treasury a Federal Mental Health Trust Fund. Appropriates to the fund specified tax revenues. Creates a Board of Trustees of the Trust Fund, with the Secretary of the Treasury as the Managing Trustee, to hold the fund, report annually to Congress on the operation and status of the fund, report to Congress when the amount of the fund is unduly small, and review general policies followed in managing the fund. Makes it the duty of the Managing Trustee to invest such portions of the trust fund, according to specified instructions, as are not required to meet current withdrawals. Title II: Mental Health Taxes - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a series of mental health taxes on employees' income, employers' income, self-employment income, and unearned income. Sets forth rules applicable to the nondeductibility of mental health taxes from the employee's exempt wages. Excludes from an individual's gross income an employer's payment of the mental health tax.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on August 22, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on August 22, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
HENRY GONZALEZ (D-TX) introduced it on August 22, 1980. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on August 22, 1980, 16867 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16867 days ago, on August 22, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers