US extends COVID public health emergency weeks after Biden declared pandemic ‘over’ MORE’s (D-Mass.) office released a list of 11 major policy proposals Wednesday.
Among them were proposals for reauthorizing the Patriot Act, which has been stalled in Congress for months, as well as an extension of the Violence Against Women Act.
A number of the proposals would focus on mental health.
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The proposals have garnered opposition from Democrats and from Republicans.
One in Washington state, Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, released a statement slamming the idea of a “mental health parity” for the Pentagon.
“We need to find ways to get all members of the military — whether active or in the reserves or National Guard — the very best mental health care and treatment,” the statement reads. “Senator Cantwell has long promised to support a mental health parity in the military bill. In fact, she voted in favor of the bill in 2018. She can support continuing efforts to make sure this is part of the defense policy we all agree on. That is all it takes.”
But the Trump administration has pushed for the policy change, which would require the military to treat both active duty and reserves without any restrictions.
The White House’s proposed proposal includes nearly 300 amendments to the military, Defense Department and Veterans Affairs budgets, and congressional spending bills.
Democrats and some Republican lawmakers have made the issue an important point of debate in the upcoming budget battles and could use the proposal as leverage to try and increase the military budget as they seek to cut the deficit.