U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy served 16 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, and is nationally known as author and lead sponsor of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.This dramatic piece of legislation provides tens of millions of Americans who were previously denied care with access to mental health treatment.
Now, Rep. Kennedy is the co-founder of One Mind for Research, a newly formed national coalition seeking new treatments and cures for neurologic and psychiatric diseases of the brain afflicting one in every three Americans.
Rep. Kennedy has authored and co-sponsored dozens of bills to increase the understanding and treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders, including the National Neurotechnology Initiative Act, the Genomics and Personalized Medicine Act, the COMBAT PTSD Act, and the Alzheimer’s Treatment and Caregiver Support Act.
Rep. Kennedy is a winner of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Distinguished Service Award, the Society for Neuroscience Public Service Award, the Peter C. Alderman Foundation Humanitarian Award, Centennial Award from the Clifford Beers Foundation, the Autism Society of America Congressional Leadership Award, the Depression and Bipolar Support Paul Wellstone Mental Health Award, and the Epilepsy Foundation Public Service Award.
He is also founder of the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus and the 21st Century Healthcare Caucus, as well as an honorary advisor to SAM-Smart Approaches to Marijuana.
Rep. Kennedy lives in Brigantine, NJ, with his wife, Amy, and their three children.