In Tribute to Senator Paul Wellstone

This nation has lost a remarkable person and a great advocate for rational and compassionate government with the death of Senator Paul Wellstone. He, his wife and his daughter were killed, in a plane crash on Oct. 25.

Senator Wellstone was one of the finest elected officials NMHA has ever known, and no one stood up more consistently or courageously for the ideals our movement holds at its center. We are profoundly saddened by the loss of this outstanding public servant and by the death of his wife and daughter. We extend our deepest sympathies to the Wellstone family.

NMHA President and CEO Michael Faenza remembers traveling with the Senator to visit a high-security juvenile correction facility in Tallulah, La. in 1998. They heard first-hand from the youth there about the deplorable conditions in the facility: they endured frequent beatings and were inadequately fed and clothed. Senator Wellstone then told Congress, national media and Louisiana that the abuse of children must stop both in the state and across the country. Neither politics nor popularity had anything to do with this message. Following his visit, the Department of Justice filed the first federal lawsuit against a state juvenile detention system. As a result, the facility whose unacceptable conditions so outraged Senator Wellstone was shut down.

Since he began his Senate career in 1990, this dedicated lawmaker has led the struggle to make health care more accessible and affordable for all Americans. And Wellstone never flagged in his efforts to achieve mental health parity. He had worked since 1996 to expand healthcare coverage for people with mental illnesses and in 2001 cosponsored a bill that would outlaw disparities between insurance coverage for mental and physical illnesses. Senator Wellstone also sought through this legislation to narrow the exemptions in a 1996 federal parity law that allowed employers to limit hospital stays and outpatient visits, and impose high copayments and deductibles.

These are just a few examples of the many courageous battles Senator Wellstone waged to preserve the rights and dignity not only of his constituents but many other citizens whose concerns might otherwise have gone unheard. President Bush acknowledged the Senator’s dedication to his constituents and to the nation, describing him as a “man of deep convictions,” in an Oct. 26 St. Paul Pioneer Press article which quotes several other Wellstone admirers. Minnesota Senator Roger Moe noted, “Without a doubt, one of the most powerful voices for justice in this country has been silenced.” And AFL-CIO President John Sweeny remembered Senator Wellstone as being “tireless and unapologetic for championing the rights of working men and women—even when he stood alone and he often did.”

NMHA sends its condolences to all who knew Senator Wellstone or were touched by him in some way. We have lost an inspiring leader whose contribution to people in this country would be hard to measure.

Read the full News Release

National Mental Health Association
2000 N. Beauregard Street, 6th Floor
Alexandria, VA 22311
Phone 703/684-7722
Fax 703/684-5968
Mental Health Resource Center 800/969-NMHA
TTY Line 800/433-5959