mental-health parity

With his 36-year term in the U.S. Senate coming to an end, Sen. Pete Domenici spend the day campaigning as though he was on the ballot. While surely a bittersweet time for him, New Mexico’s senior senator paused to offer the Independent thoughts on the state of the nation and advice to tonight’s eventual victor.

The U.S. House passed the $700 billion bailout legislation by a vote of 263-171. The successful passage of the biggest bailout in American history follows a ballot by the House earlier in the week in which lawmakers dramatically rejected the first version of the legislation 228-205.

According to information provided by U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici’s office, these are the major provisions of the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act of 2008. The bill is part of the economic bailout bill passed by the Senate this week and expected to be voted on by the House today.

U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici was packing his bags for New Mexico this morning, while still fielding calls from House leaders requesting help to persuade skeptics of the Senate’s economic bailout package. “They’re still calling around, so it makes me wonder,” Domenici said of House leaders in an interview with the New Mexico Independent today. “I thought they had it taken care of.”