Preventing Mental Health and Substance Use Crises During Emergencies Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 708 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 11, 2021 Mr. KELLY (for himself and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 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 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S708.IS S708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 708 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 2 (1) The United States invests annually in the 3 public mental health of people of the United States. 4 (2) Congress appropriated $3,600,000,000 in 5 fiscal year 2020 to the Substance Abuse and Mental 6 Health Services Administration. 7 (3) Funds are also appropriated to address 8 mental health and substance use in targeted popu- 9 lations through the Department of Veterans Affairs, 10 the Department of the Interior, and the National In- 11 stitute of Mental Health. 12 (4) On January 31, 2020, the Secretary of 13 Health and Human Services declared a public health 14 emergency due to the spread of COVID–19, and ex- 15 tended such declaration, most recently, on October 16 2, 2020. 17 (5) As of August 1, 2020, Congress provided an 18 additional $725,000,000 in supplemental funding to 19 augment mental health and substance use services 20 during the COVID–19 pandemic. 21 (6) Such supplemental funding included 22 $425,000,000 to the Substance Abuse and Mental 23 Health Services Administration, of which— 24 (A) $110,000,000 was allocated for emer- 25 gency grants for behavioral health services; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S708.IS S708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 708 IS (B) $250,000,000 was allocated for the 1 Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers 2 program; and 3 (C) $50,000,000 was allocated for suicide 4 prevention. 5 (7) The COVID–19 pandemic has exacerbated 6 concerns about the mental health and well-being of 7 the people of the United States. 8 (8) A third of people in the United States are 9 feeling severe anxiety, according to Census Bureau 10 data, and nearly a quarter show signs of depression. 11 (9) A recent poll by the Kaiser Family Founda- 12 tion found that the pandemic had negatively affected 13 the mental health of 56 percent of adults. 14 (10) In April, texts to a Federal emergency 15 mental-health line were up 1,000 percent from the 16 year before. 17 (11) The situation is particularly dire for cer- 18 tain vulnerable groups that face a significant risk of 19 post-traumatic stress disorder, including— 20 (A) health care workers; 21 (B) COVID–19 patients with severe cases; 22 and 23 (C) individuals who have lost loved ones. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S708.IS S708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 708 IS (12) In overburdened intensive-care units, de- 1 lirious patients are seeing chilling hallucinations. 2 (13) At least 2 overwhelmed emergency medical 3 workers have died by suicide since the beginning of 4 the COVID–19 pandemic. 5 (14) The public mental health crisis will con- 6 tinue after the COVID–19 pandemic subsides. 7 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 8 United States to protect the health and safety of all people 9 of the United States during public health emergencies and 10 to proactively lead public health efforts to advance the 11 mental health of the Nation. 12 SEC. 3. TASK FORCE TO PREVENT MENTAL HEALTH AND 13 SUBSTANCE USE CRISES. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 15 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec- 16 retary’’) shall convene a task force known as the Task 17 Force to Prevent Mental Health and Substance Use Crises 18 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Task Force’’) to— 19 (1) assess the response of the Federal Govern- 20 ment with respect to mental health and substance 21 use during and after the spread of COVID–19; and 22 (2) advise the Assistant Secretary for Mental 23 Health and Substance Use on a national strategy for 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S708.IS S708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 708 IS preventing mental health and substance use crises 1 during a public health emergency. 2 (b) ASSESSMENT.—In carrying out subsection (a), 3 the Task Force shall assess— 4 (1) the efficacy, outcomes, and cost of each 5 Federal initiative taken during the spread of 6 COVID–19 to support mental health and address 7 substance use, including an identification of— 8 (A) any initiative that was not successful; 9 and 10 (B) best practices and strategies; 11 (2) the ability of Federal agencies to coordinate 12 mental health programs and services and allocate re- 13 sources to respond to a public health emergency; 14 (3) the ability of Federal agencies to use tech- 15 nology developed through the Small Business Inno- 16 vation Research Program established under section 17 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) to re- 18 spond to a public health emergency; 19 (4) the ability of Federal, State, and local agen- 20 cies to coordinate with other government agencies, 21 nonprofit organizations, and entities in the private 22 sector during a public health emergency; 23 (5) any needed improvements to coordination 24 described in paragraphs (2) and (4); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S708.IS S708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 708 IS (6) a review of research programs of the Fed- 1 eral agencies listed in subsection (c)(3) with respect 2 to mental health and substance use during a public 3 health emergency; and 4 (7) a review of the amount of funds used by 5 such Federal agencies to support mental health and 6 address substance use during a public health emer- 7 gency. 8 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 9 (1) CHAIR.—Not later than 60 days after the 10 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 11 appoint an individual to serve as the Chair of the 12 Task Force. 13 (2) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force shall be 14 composed of— 15 (A) representatives of Federal agencies, in- 16 cluding the agencies listed in paragraph (3); 17 (B) representatives of nongovernmental or- 18 ganizations; 19 (C) patient advocates; and 20 (D) State and local public health experts 21 who specialize in mental health and substance 22 use. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S708.IS S708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 708 IS (3) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The agencies rep- 1 resented under paragraph (2)(A) shall, at a min- 2 imum, include the following: 3 (A) The Centers for Disease Control and 4 Prevention. 5 (B) The National Institute of Mental 6 Health. 7 (C) The National Institutes of Health. 8 (D) The National Institute on Drug 9 Abuse. 10 (E) The Food and Drug Administration. 11 (F) The Health Resources and Services 12 Administration. 13 (G) The Substance Abuse and Mental 14 Health Services Administration. 15 (H) The Agency for Healthcare Research 16 and Quality. 17 (I) The Administration for Children and 18 Families. 19 (J) The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 20 Services. 21 (K) The Department of the Interior. 22 (L) The Department of Veterans Affairs. 23 (M) The Department of Education. 24 (N) The Department of Defense. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S708.IS S708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 708 IS (O) The Department of Justice. 1 (P) The Department of Housing and 2 Urban Development. 3 (Q) The Administration for Community 4 Living. 5 (R) The Indian Health Service. 6 (S) The Department of Labor. 7 (d) MEETINGS.—Not later than 180 days after the 8 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall con- 9 vene a meeting of the Task Force and shall convene subse- 10 quent meetings on a periodic basis. 11 (e) SUBMISSIONS TO CONGRESS.— 12 (1) PROGRESS REPORT.—Not later than one 13 year after the date of enactment of this section, the 14 Task Force shall submit to the appropriate congres- 15 sional committees a report on the progress of the 16 Task Force in carrying out subsection (a). 17 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 18 after the date of enactment of this section, and an- 19 nually thereafter, the Task Force shall submit to the 20 appropriate congressional committees a report on 21 the activities of the Task Force in carrying out sub- 22 section (a), including— 23 (A) the results of the assessment under 24 subsection (b); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S708.IS S708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 708 IS (B) any findings, conclusions, and rec- 1 ommendations. 2 (f) DISPOSITION OF RECORDS.—Upon dissolution of 3 the Task Force, the records of the Task Force shall be- 4 come records of the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health 5 and Substance Use. 6 (g) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY DEFINED.—In 7 this section, the term ‘‘public health emergency’’ means 8 a public health emergency declared pursuant to section 9 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d). 10 SEC. 4. NATIONAL STRATEGY ON MENTAL HEALTH AND 11 SUBSTANCE USE DURING A PUBLIC HEALTH 12 EMERGENCY. 13 Section 501 of the Public Health Service Act (42 14 U.S.C. 290aa) is amended— 15 (1) by redesignating subsection (q) as sub- 16 section (r); and 17 (2) by inserting after subsection (p) the fol- 18 lowing: 19 ‘‘(q) NATIONAL STRATEGY DURING PUBLIC HEALTH 20 EMERGENCIES.—Not later than 30 months after the date 21 of enactment of the Preventing Mental Health and Sub- 22 stance Use Crises During Emergencies Act, and annually 23 thereafter, the Assistant Secretary shall prepare and sub- 24 mit a national strategy to the appropriate congressional 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S708.IS S708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 708 IS committees on preventing mental health and substance use 1 crises during a public health emergency declared by the 2 Secretary under section 319. Such strategy shall be based 3 on the reports submitted to Congress by the Task Force 4 to Prevent Mental Health and Substance Use Crises es- 5 tablished under section 3 of the Preventing Mental Health 6 and Substance Use Crises During Emergencies Act and 7 shall include— 8 ‘‘(1) advancements in research with respect to 9 mental health and substance use during a public 10 health emergency; and 11 ‘‘(2) a plan to increase the ability of Federal 12 agencies to coordinate mental health programs and 13 services and allocate resources to respond to a public 14 health emergency.’’. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S708.IS S708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS