UPDATE FROM APA'S PUBLIC POLICY OFFICE

Members of Congress are critical allies

A PA's Public Policy Office (PPO) works closely with mem- bers of Congress, and their staffs, to enhance funding for behavioral research and psychological education and training programs, and to employ psychological research to advance the public interest. Contrary to common perception, we have found that many members of Congress are people of tremendous integrity, with a strong desire to serve the common welfare. There are many members who have been helpful, and we have space to mention only a few. We are honored to work with them, and want APA members to know about some of those who have made, and are making, a difference for psychology.

The loss of Sen. Chafee and Rep. Brown. 1999 saw the loss of two of psychology's allies: Rep. George Brown (D-Calif.) and Sen. John Chafee (-R.I.). Brown, who chaired the House Science Committee from 1991 to 1995 died on July 15. A physicist, he carried an inquiring mind and a love for science into his political work. Brown championed tough environmental laws and space exploration, and supported the creation of the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate at the National Science Foundation. In 1994, he told the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology: "Today our most serious problems are social problems for which there are no technical solutions, only human solutions. More work in the social sciences is not a luxury but a requirement....[W]e tend to forget that explorations into human behavior, learning, economics and decision making provide fundamental understandings that contribute to the development of a more compassionate, cooperative and balanced society."

Chafee, a former governor of Rhode Island, Secretary of the Navy under President Nixon, and Senator for 22 years, died Oct. 24. He chaired the Senate Finance Committee's Subcommittee on Health, and worked tirelessly on health-care reform, including the current Medicare reform legislation. He bore the weight of a great deal of partisan conflict as

Republicans and Democrats scrambled for his votes; he was the acknowledged dean of the dwindling band of moderates in the Senate. In 1998, Sen. Chafee helped found, and co-chaired, the Congressional Prevention Coalition, a group of Senators and Representatives who support additional attention to disease prevention and health promotion in federal research and services. APA's PPO sponsored three briefings at the request of, and in collaboration with, this coalition. The first, "The Science of Prevention: Promoting Health and Well-being Throughout the Life Span," was designed to explain behavioral research on prevention. Other briefings focused on substance abuse prevention and violence prevention.

Rep. Porter: in a class by himself. Rep. John E. Porter (-Ill.) recently announced that he will not seek re-election in 2000. He has chaired the House Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee since 1995, and served as ranking minority member from 1992 to 1995. A 21-year veteran of the House, representing many of the faculty members of Northwestern University, he has fought hard for additional funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH budget has increased 31 percent over the past five years, and he deserves a great deal of the credit. He has been a champion of federal family planning research and service programs, and of human rights. In 1993, Porter was given an award by the APA Committee on Psychology and AIDS for his work in support of AIDS prevention programs and research. He has been sympathetic to APA's suggestions for appropriations language that highlighted the contributions of behavioral and social science to health, and when chairing hearings, often questions NIH witnesses about behavioral topics. In late 1997, he convened a hearing on the role of the mind in health and healing.

Rep. Christian-Christensen: champion for mental health and wellness. Rep. Donna M. Christian-Christensen (D-V.I.), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus's (CBC) Health Braintrust, convened the first-ever all-day symposium on African-Americans and mental health as part of the CBC's annual legislative conference. PPO's staff worked closely with Rep. Christian-Christensen, a physician, and her staff in developing the workshops comprising the symposium titled, "Building New Bridges to Mental Health and Wellness for the Year 2000 and Beyond." U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, opened the session with a call to action, and emphasized the need for mental health research. Other members of congress made opening remarks, including Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) and Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Ohio), one of two psychologists serving in the U.S. House. Several psychologists spoke at the symposium.

Rep. Bobby Scott: focused on developmentally appropriate juvenile justice programs. As the ranking minority member of the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, and a member of the Early Childhood, Youth and Families Subcommittee of the House Education and Workforce Committee, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) is in a unique position to influence federal policy on children and juvenile offenders. He invited APA to organize a private briefing of Representatives and Senators after the Columbine High School shootings and has sought the research of APA members on a number of other occasions. Scott has sponsored congressional briefings by the Consortium of Children, Families and the Law and has drafted legislation that seeks to preserve a separate juvenile justice system that addresses the needs of that population.

Many U.S. Senators and Representatives have worked hard to improve access to mental health services, promote behavioral research and build public policy on a credible foundation of research. In a future column we will highlight the contributions of more congressional heroes.



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