Preventing Mental Health and Substance Use Crises During Emergencies Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 434 To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to convene a task force to advise the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use on a national strategy for preventing mental health and substance use crises during a public health emergency, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 21, 2021 Mr. TRONE (for himself and Mr. WOMACK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to convene a task force to advise the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use on a national strategy for preventing mental health and substance use crises during a public health emergency, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preventing Mental 4 Health and Substance Use Crises During Emergencies 5 Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Feb 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H434.IH H434 2 •HR 434 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 2 (1) The United States invests annually in the 3 public mental health of Americans. 4 (2) Congress appropriated $5.87 billion in fiscal 5 year 2021 to the Substance Abuse and Mental 6 Health Services Administration of the Department 7 of Health and Human Services. 8 (3) Funds are also appropriated to address 9 mental health and substance use in targeted popu- 10 lations through the Department of Veterans Affairs, 11 the Department of the Interior, and the National In- 12 stitute for Mental Health. 13 (4) On January 31, 2020, the Secretary of 14 Health and Human Services declared a public health 15 emergency due to the spread of COVID–19, and ex- 16 tended such declaration, more recently, on January 17 7, 2021. 18 (5) In August 2020, Congress provided an addi- 19 tional $725 million in supplemental funding to aug- 20 ment mental health and substance use services dur- 21 ing the COVID–19 pandemic. 22 (6) Such supplemental funding included $425 23 million to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 24 Services Administration, of which— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:20 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H434.IH H434 3 •HR 434 IH (A) $110 million was allocated for emer- 1 gency grants for behavioral health services; 2 (B) $250 million was allocated for the Cer- 3 tified Community Behavioral Health Centers 4 program; and 5 (C) $50 million was allocated for suicide 6 prevention. 7 (7) In December 2020, Congress provided an 8 additional $4.25 billion in supplemental funding to 9 the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 10 Administration to provide increased mental health 11 and substance use services and support. 12 (8) The COVID–19 pandemic has exacerbated 13 concerns about the mental health and well-being of 14 Americans. 15 (9) A third of Americans are feeling severe anx- 16 iety, according to Census Bureau data, and nearly a 17 quarter show signs of depression. 18 (10) A recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foun- 19 dation found that the pandemic had negatively af- 20 fected the mental health of 56 percent of adults. 21 (11) In April 2020, texts to a Federal emer- 22 gency mental-health line were up 1,000 percent from 23 the year before. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:20 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H434.IH H434 4 •HR 434 IH (12) The situation is particularly dire for cer- 1 tain vulnerable groups that face a significant risk of 2 post-traumatic stress disorder, including— 3 (A) health care workers; 4 (B) COVID–19 patients with severe cases; 5 and 6 (C) individuals who have lost loved ones. 7 (13) In overburdened intensive-care units, de- 8 lirious patients are seeing chilling hallucinations. 9 (14) At least two overwhelmed emergency med- 10 ical workers have died by suicide since the beginning 11 of the COVID–19 pandemic. 12 (15) The public mental health crisis will con- 13 tinue after the COVID–19 pandemic subsides. 14 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 15 United States to protect the health and safety of all Amer- 16 icans during public health emergencies and to proactively 17 lead public health efforts to advance the mental health of 18 the Nation. 19 SEC. 3. TASK FORCE TO PREVENT MENTAL HEALTH AND 20 SUBSTANCE USE CRISES. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 22 Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec- 23 retary’’) shall convene a task force known as the Task 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:20 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H434.IH H434 5 •HR 434 IH Force to Prevent Mental Health and Substance Use Crises 1 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’) to— 2 (1) assess the response of the Federal Govern- 3 ment with respect to mental health and substance 4 use during and after the spread of COVID–19; and 5 (2) advise the Assistant Secretary for Mental 6 Health and Substance Use on a national strategy for 7 preventing mental health and substance use crises 8 during a public health emergency. 9 (b) ASSESSMENT.—In carrying out subsection (a), 10 the Task Force shall assess— 11 (1) the efficacy, outcomes, and cost of each 12 Federal initiative taken during the spread of 13 COVID–19 to support mental health and address 14 substance use, including an identification of— 15 (A) any initiative that was not successful; 16 and 17 (B) best practices and strategies; 18 (2) the ability of Federal agencies to coordinate 19 mental health programs and services and allocate re- 20 sources to respond to a public health emergency; 21 (3) the ability of Federal agencies to use tech- 22 nology developed through the Small Business Inno- 23 vation Research Program established under section 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:20 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H434.IH H434 6 •HR 434 IH 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) to re- 1 spond to a public health emergency; 2 (4) the ability of Federal, State, and local agen- 3 cies to coordinate with other government agencies, 4 nonprofit organizations, and entities in the private 5 sector during a public health emergency; 6 (5) any needed improvements to coordination 7 described in paragraphs (1) and (2); 8 (6) a review of research programs of the Fed- 9 eral agencies listed in subsection (c)(3) with respect 10 to mental health and substance use during a public 11 health emergency; and 12 (7) a review of the amount of funds used by 13 such Federal agencies to support mental health and 14 address substance use during a public health emer- 15 gency. 16 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 17 (1) CHAIR.—Not later than 60 days after the 18 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 19 shall appoint an individual to serve as the Chair of 20 the Task Force. 21 (2) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force shall be 22 composed of— 23 (A) representatives of Federal agencies, in- 24 cluding the agencies listed in paragraph (3); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:20 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H434.IH H434 7 •HR 434 IH (B) representatives of nongovernmental or- 1 ganizations; 2 (C) patient advocates; and 3 (D) State and local public health experts 4 who specialize in mental health and substance 5 use. 6 (3) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The agencies rep- 7 resented under paragraph (2)(A) shall, at a min- 8 imum, include the following: 9 (A) The Centers for Disease Control and 10 Prevention. 11 (B) The National Institute of Mental 12 Health. 13 (C) The National Institutes of Health. 14 (D) The National Institute on Drug 15 Abuse. 16 (E) The Food and Drug Administration. 17 (F) The Health Resources and Services 18 Administration. 19 (G) The Substance Abuse and Mental 20 Health Services Administration. 21 (H) The Agency for Healthcare Research 22 and Quality. 23 (I) The Administration for Children and 24 Families. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:20 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H434.IH H434 8 •HR 434 IH (J) The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 1 Services. 2 (K) The Department of the Interior. 3 (L) The Department of Veterans Affairs. 4 (M) The Department of Education. 5 (N) The Department of Defense. 6 (O) The Department of Justice. 7 (P) The Department of Housing and 8 Urban Development. 9 (Q) The Administration for Community 10 Living. 11 (R) The Indian Health Service. 12 (S) The Department of Labor. 13 (d) MEETINGS.—Not later than 180 days after the 14 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 15 convene a meeting of the Task Force and shall convene 16 subsequent meetings on a periodic basis. 17 (e) SUBMISSIONS TO CONGRESS.— 18 (1) PROGRESS REPORT.—Not later than one 19 year after the date of the enactment of this section, 20 the Task Force shall submit to the appropriate con- 21 gressional committees a report on the progress of 22 the Task Force in carrying out subsection (a). 23 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than two years 24 after the date of the enactment of this section, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:20 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H434.IH H434 9 •HR 434 IH Task Force shall submit, and update on an annual 1 basis, to the appropriate congressional committees a 2 report on the activities of the Task Force in car- 3 rying out subsection (a), including— 4 (A) the results of the assessment under 5 subsection (b); and 6 (B) any findings, conclusions, and rec- 7 ommendations. 8 (f) DISPOSITION OF RECORDS.—Upon dissolution of 9 the Task Force, the records of the Task Force shall be- 10 come records of the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health 11 and Substance Use. 12 (g) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY DEFINED.—In 13 this section, the term ‘‘public health emergency’’ means 14 a public health emergency declared pursuant to section 15 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d). 16 SEC. 4. NATIONAL STRATEGY ON MENTAL HEALTH AND 17 SUBSTANCE USE DURING A PUBLIC HEALTH 18 EMERGENCY. 19 Section 501 of the Public Health Service Act (42 20 U.S.C. 290aa) is amended— 21 (1) by redesignating subsection (q) as sub- 22 section (r); and 23 (2) by inserting after subsection (p) the fol- 24 lowing: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:20 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H434.IH H434 10 •HR 434 IH ‘‘(q) NATIONAL STRATEGY DURING PUBLIC HEALTH 1 EMERGENCIES.—Not later than 30 months after the date 2 of the enactment of this subsection, and annually there- 3 after, the Assistant Secretary shall prepare and submit a 4 national strategy to the appropriate congressional commit- 5 tees on preventing mental health and substance use crises 6 during a public health emergency. Such strategy shall be 7 based on the reports submitted to Congress by the Task 8 Force to Prevent Mental Health and Substance Use Crises 9 and include— 10 ‘‘(1) advancements in research with respect to 11 mental health and substance use during a public 12 health emergency; and 13 ‘‘(2) a plan to increase the ability of Federal 14 agencies to coordinate mental health programs and 15 services and allocate resources to respond to a public 16 health emergency.’’. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:20 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H434.IH H434