Perhaps the only positive thing about the Wall Street bailout bill was its inclusion of the Wellstone-Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. Here's a statement from Wellstone Action, the progressive center for training and leadership developed founded to honor the legacy of Paul and Sheila Wellstone:

This bill is a major achievement, one I know my dad would be proud of," said David Wellstone. "This bill will go a long way to ease the pain and suffering of those with mental illness and addiction, and I am proud to have been part of this effort. It's a great day." David Wellstone is the co-founder of Wellstone Action, an organization that has been mobilizing support for the bill.

The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 is a major step forward to end discrimination in insurance coverage for people with mental illness and substance abuse disorders. The legislation states that insurance plans may not place arbitrary and discriminatory restrictions on mental health and addiction coverage as compared to medical/surgical coverage. Millions of individuals and families have been affected by the inability to access equal coverage for mental health and addiction care.

The late Senator Paul Wellstone championed this issue during his time in the Senate, passing the 1996 groundbreaking parity law. He firmly believed that equal access to care was at its core a matter of fairness and justice and he never stopped fighting to improve the law. Passage of this legislation will save countless lives, and is a fitting tribute to Wellstone's legacy.

The final legislation was weakened somewhat—most notably, business with fewer than 50 employees (almost a third of all employees) are allowed to continue discriminating on the basis of mental illness when providing health insurance. The Americans with Disabilities Act, by comparison, applies to all businesses with 15 or more employees.

It's ironic that the Wellstone Act was ultimately signed into law as part of a larger bailout bill that Wellstone himself would have almost certainly fought and voted against. But that shouldn't keep us from celebrating the step forward the Wellstone Act represents.