Rosalynn Carter
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) on Tuesday unveiled a bipartisan resolution that would honor former first lady Rosalynn Smith Carter’s 50 years of mental health advocacy.
“There is no question that Mrs. Carter has made Georgians proud with this work,” Rep. Carter said. “As we continue these efforts to support mental health issues, Mrs. Carter deserves to be recognized for championing this fight.”
Rep. Carter on Oct. 6 signed on as the original cosponsor of House Resolution 1181 with U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI). U.S. Sens. David Perdue (R-GA) and Christopher Murphy (D-CT) on Sept. 29 introduced the companion Senate Resolution 726.
Rosalynn Carter, 93, who served as first lady from 1977 to 1981 as the wife of former President Jimmy Carter, “has dedicated her life to helping others,” Rep. Carter said, who is of no relation to the former president and first lady.
The congressman noted that one of Rosalynn Carter’s most admirable missions has been her work on mental health. “She has fought to end the stigma against mental health illnesses and to increase access to mental health care,” he said.
The resolution would highlight that work, such as when she became the active honorary chair of the President’s Commission on Mental Health during her husband’s presidential administration. Rosalynn Carter’s work on the commission resulted in passage of the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980, which offered reforms to publicly funded mental health programs, according to the text of the resolution.
Additionally, in 1982, the Carters founded The Carter Center, which is dedicated to improving the quality of life for people in the United States and in the developing world through programs that promote peace and health.
And from 1985 to 2016, Rosalynn Carter hosted the annual Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy, bringing together national leaders in the mental health community to discuss a specific topic each year, among many other efforts, according to the resolution’s text.