third of americans have no retirement savings. a new survey commissioned by bankrate.com finds that 14% of americans ages 65 and older are without a nest egg. -64 age group, 24%. in total, 36% of americans have not put aside a time for retirement. today says "perhaps unsurprisingly, young americans are the least prepared, with 69% of the 18-29 age group having no retirement savings. "the key to aays successful retirement is to save early and aggressively." turning to the middle east, israeli and palestinian negotiators in the egypt-mediated gaza talks hard their positions today.

this ahead of the expiration of a five-day cease-fire. the month-long israel-hamas war has killed more than 1900 ofestinians, the majority them civilians, according to palestinian and u.s. officials. israel has lost 67 people, all but three of them soldiers. the current five-day cease-fire is due to end late today. hasun security council scheduled a meeting for this morning. watch it on c-span or listen to it on c-span radio at 10:00 a.m. eastern. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> this month, c-span present debates on what makes america great. geneticallynd modified foods. issue spotlight come with looks at veterans health care, irs oversight, student loan debt, assad.pus sexual prospective on issues including

global warming, voting rights, infectious disease, and food safety. and our history tour, sights and sounds from historic places. find our tv schedule at c-span.org. let us know what you think about the programs you are watching. 02-626-3400, or e-mail us. like us on facebook and follow us on twitter. "> "washington journal continues. host: a headline from last week's "washington post," the death of robin williams sparks conversations about mental health. we want to continue that in our last 30 minutes on "washington journal." to kick off this conversation, we are joined by congressman tim murphy, psychologist and cochairman of the congressional mental health care caucus. good morning. guest: good morning. want to see the

grassroots conversation that was referred to in the "washington post" headline. what do you want to see coming from this conversation in the wake of the death of robin williams? guest: we've been putting off action on dealing with mental illness for decades in this country. i want to make sure we are coming up with real reforms and putting them in the place. in the past, the federal government has simply passed programs to throw more money at to federal programs without looking at root causes. the federal government has worsened the situation when we closed down state hospitals in the 1960's, 1970's, and 19 80's. supposedly, there was a promise of helping people with outpatient care, that never came true. the federal government has put barriers up such as if you are on medicaid you cannot the two doctors in the same day. if a parent brings a teenager to physicianian and the

says your child is showing some signs of psychosis or severe depression, they cannot see another doctor that day. medicaid has a role that says they will not reimburse hospitals with more than 16 beds. the problem is, when somebody is involved in a severe mental , deeplyrisis hallucinating, deeply depressed, something along those lines, and they need hospitalization to help them get stabilized, there is some -- there are not enough beds in america. where do we put these people? the number of hospital beds has in theed from 550,000 1950's when the population was 150 million, to less than 140,000 when the population is 316 million. we've seen an increase in incarceration, homelessness, substance abuse, suicide, and unemployment among the mentally ill. none of those are good signs.

it is time that we change the way we approach this. host: you've been pushing legislation to increase access to mental health care programs. is that stand? 37-17, the helping families in a mental health crisis act, we have a bipartisan bill in the energy and commerce committee, we've been looking with leadership to see what parts of the bill we can move forward now. frankly, there are a lot of parts that we are still going to need to move with solid support. this includes such things as reauthorizing suicide intervention work, making sure we take a position about the two doctor visits and the same day, increasing the number of hospital beds. also, programs such as a response after an initial episode, the rays program, make sure we are funding early treatment. when a person is in treatment, they are less likely to be

involved in a violent act or suicidal act. frankly, the mentally ill are more prone to be victims of violence. in all these cases, we want to make sure we are dealing with this. there are interesting points still maintain a standard established in the 17th century, they will only or compel someone to get into treatment by a judge if they are in imminent danger of suicide or homicide. that means, in a bad case like robin williams or some of these shootings, only if they are catching that person about to commit suicide or about to be violent towards others or saying they will do that will the state intervene. when we have heard from so many parents across america, heartbreaking stories, how they have lost touch with their kids, .hey have lost control kids who are maybe on the

adults, withagers, paa laws, they have blocked the ability for families to help. if someone with alzheimer's disease or maybe a soldier with brain damage, if someone wondered out of their house into the cold and darkness, their picture would be on the evening news and they would alert everyone, search parties will go out. if someone has severe mental illness like severe depression or psychosis and they are wandering around like someone with schizophrenia, hallucinating and not able to care for themselves, we still have the rules that says no one can talk about it. it is time that we recognize that mental illness is a brain disease. in a case like robin williams, there is speculation of what role parkinson's disease have. does are reasonable questions. someone with chronic illness is .lso were subject to depression

let's keep in mind that with mr. williams or others, this is not just the blues. this is not just someone being sad. this is a place where it is so pervasive. an act ofow in desperation. they are trying to end the sadness. they are no longer able to think straight. measures we use with each other when you're down in the dumps, having a bad time, it is different for someone with this kind of breakdown in the inability to think for themselves. that is where our bill will step in and say we want to help people, we do not want to see them suicidal, one of the 40,000 suicides in this country last year, one of the million attempts. we don't want to see them caught up with police or in jail or homeless. will be asking viewers for their thoughts on the state of in thetal health system

u.s.. before we let you go, when you say to people who look at a person like robin williams, with all the fame and all the wealth, and they say he could not be -- his depression -- how can i make it? a perfect question. someone like robin williams had all the money in the world to get the right kind of treatment. but, what happens when you are severely mentally ill, you can no longer think straight. whoe some of your viewers are listening will call in and say we should never force someone into treatment. i would say for the most part, absolutely true. we have to understand, with a brain disease were a person can no longer think and understand clearly, they no longer know who they are, where they are, what they are. -- ito not have the same is a time when family members want to be able to intervene and say let's get you help, that is what the difference is. where there is no help, there is

no hope. we want to make sure that we are reaching out and those who are in need and those who have those problems understand that they can get help. psychiatrists, psychologists, people trained to do this, you can make a difference, i do not want people to give up hope. i have their families are reaching out to help them. worry that this topic will receive back into the shadows the farther we get from the death of robin williams? guest: when you look at what is happened over the last year or so, i have been doing my investigation into the treatment of mental illness in america, the navy yard shooting, the sandy hook shooting. the shooting at the army base. these things will continue on. the homicides, the victimization of the mentally ill, they are being robbed and assaulted more than the population.

i hope all of this keeps a light thatr hearts to understand we cannot keep turning away. we cannot become numb to this. we cannot turn our face away because mental owners in america , the problems are worsening. if we do not knew something, shame on us. that blame rests in our hands and we have to do something. host: tim murphy, republican of pennsylvania and the cochairman of the mental health care caucus. appreciate your time. guest: thank you. host: we want our viewers' state of thehe mental health care system. republicans can call (202) 585-3881. democrats, (202) 585-3880. independents, (202) 585-3882. outside the u.s., (202) 585-38 2 3. for the last 20 minutes on our program this morning. check for your tweets,

facebook posts, and e-mail us . alabama.rom fayette, >> i wish you would allow those who call, not cut them off so quickly. on had a wonderful author islam-christian relations and their history. i am the one who phoned in. allah and talked about protestants down here telling worship ahat they false god. .ost: get to your comment theer: i was cut off when host asked me what political affiliation i was. i have three concerns.

about theseyou before i mention the concerns. perspectivefrom the of someone recovering from a excessive compulsive disorder. once had severe depression. -- social work for many groups. abiding citizens who own guns but have mental illness and their families, and their homes, being blasé and silent about this. and the mental health community saying that this will violate confidentiality of their records. it has got to be some way around that problem. teacher training -- this is a personal thing of mine about

having rare autism, asperger's syndrome, which i still have -- but being in a rural schools were the teachers were not trained in the 1970's. additional teacher training, like with your last segment, for dealing with the mentally ill students and autistic students, as well as the deaf and blind. can we prevent police departments from just locking up people who, even first-time marijuana users, as well as those who have never -- who are not committing crimes. my gosh, some of these are outstanding military veterans who happen to have posttraumatic shell shock or whatever it is called. and his republicans say they love our veterans. it seems to me they love johnny defense spending on extensive weapons, cold war style, more than they do returning veterans. host: on our line for

republicans, susan in new york. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. it is sad what happened to robin williams. know where his mindset was. it is a very dark cloud that hangs over you. it is actually the serotonin-melatonin -- there's not enough in your system. you go into this black death, you have to wait for it to pass. there is nothing you can do about it. you can take medication, you can see a health care provider. der body goes into this pth and you hide until it passes. not inptsd, no, i was the service. what has changed in the health care related issue of mental health, what i am finding is the

, thees of the files private doctors who were psychologists or psychiatrists, they have to use a computer. and a lot of them use paper and pen still. it is costly to get the computer software. a lot of them have closed doors will stop across the states, a lot of the states are shutting down the state psychiatric centers because of budget cuts. it is very difficult to find a psychologist or psychiatrist. so now we are looking at our own doctors to prescribe us medication for depression. host: susan in new york. health inout mental the u.s. prompted by the suicide of actor robin williams. "the washington post" adding some statistics on suicide deaths in the u.s., robin

williams was in a group facing the higher risk of suicide, older white men with depression. white males far leading the number of suicides in the country. statistics from 2011. followed by white females, black males, and then asian-pacific islanders. noting suicide deaths by age group. noting that those in the 45-54-year-old range are in the highest risk groups for suicide deaths in the u.s. that is from "the washington post" august 12. sue in austin, texas on our line for democrats. caller: good morning. i would like to say, before i get to my point, you all tell people all the time to turn their sound down, you should also tell them not to watch. even though their sound is , they are seeing the

visual cues of people conversing and it is throwing them off. even when their sound is down, they are going -- you are not talking right? host: we appreciate the suggestion, what is your opinion on the state of the u.s. mental health system? be 63: i happened to years old and fighting a severe case of depression at the moment. i discover that just finding a psychiatrist is almost impossible in the state of texas. to do withnothing obamacare, although i am sure people will try to say it has. it has got to do with the fact that they want to charge rates higher than any of the insurance want to pay, so just do not take insurance period. trying to find a doctor is almost impossible.

63, i,bin williams being too, and 63. the question you asked before you quit speaking with the specialist. if they cannot fix robin williams, how can i expect them to fix me? he had to have had so many things to help him. is that part of the baby boomers, my era's problems, we are seeing our bodies break down. it is unacceptable. we realize there is still so much we wanted to do. it is just not going to happen because we are breaking down. i think the fact that he has factor ins is a major what would have driven robin to what he did.

it is so much paper then people -- it is so much deeper than people think. you are letting someone have control over you or you're not looking at things from the bright side, you should always try to see things brightly. impossibility when you're in the depression. heardghter, when she about robin williams, she says she was disappointed by one of her heroes. because this man had been responsible for giving her so much joy. she felt he was not letting down his family, but the world. and i thought, what kind of responsibility with that weigh on you. to stay that you have alive, not just for your family, but to keep the world happy. host: we appreciate the call. sad reality ofe

depression is that most people with it feel ashamed to ask for help." leti on our twitter page. facts about u.s. mental health from the national association of mental health. adults, 62 million experience mental illness in a given year. we percent of youths ages 13-18 experienced severe mental disorders in a given year. let's go to hunter, calling in from templeton, california -- i am sorry, andrew in ontario, canada. good morning.

are you with us from ontario, canada? do not have andrew, we will go to hunter and templeton, california. good morning. caller: hello. good morning, america. i am from california. first, i want to give my heartfelt condolences to the williams family. . am a former standup we are manic-depressive's. i stopped, the because my son was kidnapped in the early 90's. you do not know how that spun me out. fbi, fromelp from the the police department. i had to find my son. on top of that, i had to make a living to hold my house up and take care of family. i found my son six weeks after he was kidnapped in mexico. the perpetrators were not punished because they were

millionaires. it was a family kidnapping, trying to get my family into russia because the family is full-blooded russian. they are living high on the hot and my son is in a bad state of mind in northern california. i have to deal with this daily. robin williams did have the weight of the world on his shoulders. i do believe -- he just got out of rehab. anybody getting out of rehab needs to have someone, a constant companion, you need to develop a constant companion organization. to where these people, who are getting out of any form of rehab, having a constant companion with them for at least 90 days. 90 days after any form of rehab, your mind can go to the left and you will do something drastic. hunter and california. we will try to get to as many calls as we can.

we talk about the u.s. mental health care system. paula, good morning. thank you. i want to talk about a population that really has not enginentioned for this just barely touched upon in this segment. that is elementary-aged children. i am a school social worker. i have been a school social worker for almost 20 years. prior to that, i have been a social worker for about 24 years . my experiences is in the public , i went from a time when psychiatrists to leave that children could not suffer from major depressive disorders

to finally accepting that. and then finally accepting that they can suffer from other mood disorders such as bipolar disorder. on to moree moved than in this past year all 20 years that i have for where we have had suicidal children. from secondn ages seven which is about years old, to fix gray, which is about 10 years old or 11 years old. it is very frightening, the link that they will go to while in school to hurt themselves. i had this one student who would take those little pencil sharpener's, plastic pencil -- there is a little

razor blade in there. will go to lorraine, waiting in wisconsin, to give her comment. on our line for democrats. good morning. caller: good morning. check outknow if they what kind of medication that robin williams was taking. i am taking a medication for seizures. the slip that comes along with the medication says "if you have thoughts of suicide, see your doctor." when they have stuff advertised on television, they will always that can leadts to suicide. , besides anyat out illegal drugs, check out what he

was taking for his depression. host: ok. do not have any information on what robin williams may or may not have been taking. here's a story from "the wall street journal." robin williams was suffering from the early stages of parkinson's disease, along with severe depression at the time of his suicide. the story goes that more than half of those who suffer from parkinson's also experience clinical depression. about 30,000 -- 60,000 people are diagnosed each year with year.son's each it typically affects people older than 50. bernadette is waiting in the neck of color on our line for democrats. good morning. i have a couple major questions i would like to ask.

it is different segments of the population. forll use the term targeted specific illnesses. do we have someone out there, i hate to say the government, playing god with people's lives? number two, the mental health workers, how qualified are they? capacity?eir mental many times, people have been misdiagnosed and have been given medication that actually drives them to mental illness. i have questions regarding that. go to vicky in florida on our last couple minutes on the "washington journal." democrats. caller: thank you for c-span. this is the best program that allows regular people to have a sense of belonging. with mental illness, that is

what it boils down to. we all want a sense of belonging. we want a healthy mind. this economy has taken a toll on me. headld have blown off my last year. it was just because of the economy. thes americans should feel sense of belonging within our own country. we are so scattered with the things that are happening. so i hope that the representatives and the ones that talk about this really take the economy into consideration. it is just regular people out there that are touched by this massive depression that is happening. that is causing suicide and causing this dilemma and mental health. especially in my age group, between 50 and 70. i need to make that comment. this temporary crazy that we really affecting us.

i think the economy and our financial be considered. i think you seeallowing me to sy comments. host: we should mention the number for the national suicide prevention hotline if any of the viewers need the number. that number -- 800-824-8255. we will see you back your summer morning. have a great, monday. ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]