Healthcare reform legislation continues to move forward in Congress. This week, the Senate Finance Committee approved their healthcare reform bill by a 14 to 9 vote. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) voted with the Committee Democrats to report the bill.

Work is now focused on reconciling the Senate Finance bill with the Senate HELP Committee bill. Similar work is ongoing in the House, as Congressional leaders work to meld the House Education and Labor, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce bills. Once the bills are combined, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) will score the final House and Senate bills before floor debate and votes will occur later this month.

This week, Legal Action Center and SAAS participated in a number of events celebrating SAMHSAs Recovery Month, including the press conference to release the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), and the annual Recovery Month luncheon. Event participants and speakers included ONDCP Director Gil Kerlikowske, SAMHSAs Acting Director Rear Admiral Eric B. Broderick, Director of SAMHSAs Center for Substance Abuse Treatment Dr. H. Westley Clark, and Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (R-CA).

The NSDUH, which found that in 2008 20.8 million people in need of treatment for a problem with alcohol or other drugs did not receive it, can be found at: http://oas.samhsa.gov/nsduh/2k8nsduh/2k8Results.cfm. A full schedule of Recovery Month events and a toolkit of resources can be found at: http://www.recoverymonth.gov/.

This week, leadership of Legal Action Center and SAAS were invited to participate in a listening session at the ONDCP with Director Gil Kerlikowske and Deputy Director Tom McLellan. Session participants, including leaders from most of the leading addiction national organizations and many education groups, were asked to provide thoughts on what should be included in the upcoming ONDCP National Drug Strategy.