Amazing news: the BIG Act has passed the House for a second time! However, unlike the previous passage last year as a standalone bill, we worked with Rep. Drew Ferguson’s (R-GA) office to have the BIG Act text included as an amendment in a major bipartisan mental health bill, H.R. 7666, the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022.
What this means is unlike the BIG Act as a standalone bill, H.R. 7666 contains several mental health priorities that the House wants to become law and should garner the attention of the Senate for action. While this is exciting news for the BIG Act, NABITA still needs to continue building up the co-sponsor list for the Senate version of the Act.
We ask if you have not reached out to your home state senators, now is the time to do so. For your convenience, NABITA has created a member activation page with a sample email draft and all the information you need to reach out to your home state senator.
Furthermore, if you would like to meet with your home state senators to explain why BITs are so important, NABITA would be happy to help arrange that as well! As you might have seen in your email, NABITA has been running an ongoing educational series with Senate offices, which is aimed at educating Members about what a BIT team is.
If you are interested in meeting with your senators and representing your home state, please reach out to Jen Taylor, Executive Director of NABITA, directly at jen.taylor@nabita.org.