Press Releases
U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05), chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, released the following statement on Vice President Biden's announcement of $100 million in additional funding made available to expand and improve mental health services. $50 million will come through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to help community centers provide more mental health services. The second half of the money, made available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), will help finance rural mental health facilities.
U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) introduced bipartisan legislation expanding access to mental health care for Medicare recipients. H.R. 3662, the Mental Health Access Improvement Act, will add thousands of highly qualified licensed mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists (MFTs) to the network of providers eligible to serve Medicare beneficiaries.
U.S. Reps. Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Kevin Brady (R-TX), senior members of the House Committee on Ways and Means, today introduced bipartisan legislation that will help reduce burdens faced by small businesses and ensure better compliance with complex federal employment tax responsibilities. H.R. 3581, the Small Business Efficiency Act of 2013, would provide clear rules for Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) that are voluntarily certified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to collect and pay federal employment taxes for their small business clients.
U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) today voted to pass H.R. 2061, the Digital Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act of 2013. This bill requires information on all federal spending to be posted to a single, comprehensive and searchable website, USASpending.gov. The DATA Act also limits federal agency travel expenses to 70 percent of their Fiscal Year 2010 travel costs, limits the allowable costs of agency conferences and requires extensive new reporting and public disclosure of conference costs and activities.
Today, U.S. Reps. Mike Thompson (CA-5) and Scott Peters (CA-52) introduced H.R. 3507, the 21st Century Care for Military & Veterans Act. This bipartisan legislation would expand coverage of telehealth services to active-duty servicemembers, their dependents, retirees, and veterans. Because of provider shortages at local practices, many servicemembers and veterans lack access to a primary care physician, and in rural and underserved communities patients often must travel extended distances to see a healthcare provider.
U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) today released the following statement on President Obama's announcement that insurance companies can continue offering insurance plans for another year even if those plans do not meet the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) minimum standards.