I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3073 To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to promote mental wellness and resil- ience and prevent and heal mental health, behavioral health, and psycho- social conditions through developmentally and culturally appropriate com- munity programs, and award grants for the purpose of establishing, operating, or expanding community-based mental wellness and resilience programs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 2, 2023 Mr. TONKO (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. BACON, and Mrs. PELTOLA) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Sec- retary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to promote mental wellness and resilience and prevent and heal mental health, behavioral health, and psychosocial conditions through developmentally and culturally appropriate community programs, and award grants for the purpose of establishing, operating, or ex- panding community-based mental wellness and resilience programs, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3073.IH H3073 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3073 IH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Mental 4 Wellness and Resilience Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR COMMUNITY MENTAL 6 WELLNESS AND RESILIENCE PROGRAMS. 7 Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended 8 by inserting after section 317V, as added by section 2201 9 of the PREVENT Pandemics Act (Public Law 117–328) 10 the following: 11 ‘‘SEC. 317W. GRANT PROGRAM FOR COMMUNITY MENTAL 12 WELLNESS AND RESILIENCE PROGRAMS. 13 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.— 14 ‘‘(1) PLANNING GRANTS.— 15 ‘‘(A) AWARDS.—The Secretary, acting 16 through the Director of the Centers for Disease 17 Control and Prevention (in this section referred 18 to as the ‘Secretary’), in consultation with the 19 Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Sub- 20 stance Use and the Administrator of the Health 21 Resources and Services Administration, shall 22 award grants to eligible organizations— 23 ‘‘(i) to organize a resilience coordi- 24 nating network; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3073.IH H3073 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3073 IH ‘‘(ii) to perform assessments of need 1 with respect to community mental wellness 2 and resilience; and 3 ‘‘(iii) to prepare an application for a 4 grant under paragraph (2). 5 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant 6 under subparagraph (A), with respect to any el- 7 igible organization seeking such a grant shall 8 not exceed $250,000. 9 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION DE- 10 FINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘eligible 11 organization’ means an organization that— 12 ‘‘(i) is a nonprofit or community- 13 based entity eligible to be a part of the re- 14 silience coordinating network (as defined in 15 subsection (c)); and 16 ‘‘(ii) has documented support from at 17 least 3 other such entities. 18 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM GRANTS.— 19 ‘‘(A) AWARDS.—The Secretary, acting 20 through the Director of the Centers for Disease 21 Control and Prevention, in consultation with 22 the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and 23 Substance Use and the Administrator of the 24 Health Resources and Services Administration, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3073.IH H3073 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3073 IH shall carry out a program of awarding grants to 1 resilience coordinating networks, on a competi- 2 tive basis, for the purpose of establishing, oper- 3 ating, or expanding community mental wellness 4 and resilience programs. 5 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant 6 under subparagraph (A) shall not exceed 7 $500,000 each year over a period not to exceed 8 four years. 9 ‘‘(C) RURAL SET ASIDE.— 10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds ap- 11 propriated to carry out this section for a 12 fiscal year, 20 percent of such funds shall 13 be reserved to award grants to community 14 mental wellness and resilience programs in 15 rural areas. 16 ‘‘(ii) RURAL AREA DESCRIBED.—For 17 purposes of clause (i), a rural area is a re- 18 gion outside of an urban or suburban area. 19 ‘‘(iii) INCLUSION.—For purposes of 20 clause (ii), a rural area may include indi- 21 viduals and organizations from multiple 22 towns in the county or region involved. 23 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—A program carried 24 out using funds awarded under subsection (a)(2) shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3073.IH H3073 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3073 IH take a public health approach to mental health prevention 1 and promotion, using the best available evidence, to 2 strengthen the entire community’s psychological and emo- 3 tional wellness and resilience, including by— 4 ‘‘(1) collecting and analyzing information from 5 residents of the community as well as quantitative 6 data to identify— 7 ‘‘(A) protective factors that enhance and 8 sustain the community’s capacity for mental 9 wellness and resilience; and 10 ‘‘(B) risk factors that undermine such ca- 11 pacity; 12 ‘‘(2) strengthening such protective factors and 13 addressing such risk factors; 14 ‘‘(3) building awareness, skills, tools, and lead- 15 ership in the community to— 16 ‘‘(A) facilitate using a public health ap- 17 proach to mental health; and 18 ‘‘(B) detect, prevent, and heal mental 19 health, behavioral health, and psychosocial con- 20 ditions among all adults and youth; and 21 ‘‘(4) developing, implementing, and continually 22 evaluating and improving a comprehensive strategic 23 plan for carrying out the activities described in para- 24 graphs (1), (2) and (3) that includes utilizing devel- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3073.IH H3073 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3073 IH opmentally, linguistically, and culturally appropriate 1 evidence-based, evidence-informed, promising-best, 2 or indigenous practices for— 3 ‘‘(A) engaging residents in building social 4 connections, including across cultural, geo- 5 graphic, and economic boundaries; 6 ‘‘(B) enhancing local economic, social, and 7 environmental conditions, including with respect 8 to the built environment; 9 ‘‘(C) becoming trauma-informed and learn- 10 ing simple self-administrable mental wellness 11 and resilience skills; 12 ‘‘(D) engaging in community activities that 13 strengthen mental wellness and resilience; 14 ‘‘(E) partaking in nonclinical group and 15 community-minded prevention and recovery pro- 16 grams; and 17 ‘‘(F) other activities to promote mental 18 wellness and resilience and prevent or heal indi- 19 vidual and community traumas. 20 ‘‘(c) RESILIENCE COORDINATING NETWORK.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 22 ‘resilience coordinating network’ means a network 23 that is composed of 1 or more representatives from 24 at least 5 of the categories listed in paragraph (2). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3073.IH H3073 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3073 IH ‘‘(2) CATEGORIES.—The categories listed in 1 this paragraph are the following: 2 ‘‘(A) Grassroots groups, community-based 3 organizations, neighborhood associations, and 4 volunteer civic organizations. 5 ‘‘(B) Elementary and secondary schools, 6 high-needs schools, institutions of higher edu- 7 cation, including community colleges, job-train- 8 ing programs, and other education or training 9 agencies or organizations. 10 ‘‘(C) Youth serving organizations, such as 11 youth after-school and summer programs. 12 ‘‘(D) Parental, family, and early childhood 13 education programs. 14 ‘‘(E) Faith and spirituality organizations. 15 ‘‘(F) Senior care organizations. 16 ‘‘(G) Climate change mitigation and adap- 17 tation, and environmental conservation, groups 18 and organizations. 19 ‘‘(H) Social and environmental justice 20 groups and organizations. 21 ‘‘(I) Disaster preparedness and emergency 22 response groups and organizations. 23 ‘‘(J) Businesses and business associations. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3073.IH H3073 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3073 IH ‘‘(K) Police, fire, and other agencies and 1 organizations involved with community safety, 2 security, and the justice system. 3 ‘‘(L) Social work, mental health, behavioral 4 health, substance use, physical health, public 5 health, and other professionals, groups, organi- 6 zations, agencies, and institutions in the human 7 health and social services fields. 8 ‘‘(M) The general public, including individ- 9 uals who have experienced adverse mental 10 health or behavioral health conditions who can 11 represent and engage with populations relevant 12 to the community. 13 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 14 provide, directly or through grants to, or contracts with 15 public or private entities, to eligible organizations and re- 16 silience coordinating networks technical assistance— 17 ‘‘(1) in developing applications for grants under 18 paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a); and 19 ‘‘(2) by sharing best practices learned from re- 20 silience coordinating networks. 21 ‘‘(e) REPORT.— 22 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.—Not later than December 23 31, 2028, the Secretary shall submit a report to the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3073.IH H3073 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3073 IH Congress on the results of the grants under sub- 1 section (a)(1). 2 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Such report shall include a 3 summary of the best practices used by grantees in 4 establishing, operating, or expanding community 5 mental wellness and resilience programs, and the 6 outputs and outcomes achieved. 7 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 ‘‘(1) The term ‘public health approach to men- 9 tal health’ refers to methods that— 10 ‘‘(A) take a population-level approach to 11 promote mental wellness and resilience to pre- 12 vent problems before they emerge, intervene be- 13 fore they become more severe, and heal them 14 when they do appear, not merely treating indi- 15 viduals one at a time after symptoms of pathol- 16 ogy appear; and 17 ‘‘(B) address mental health and psycho- 18 social problems by— 19 ‘‘(i) identifying and strengthening ex- 20 isting protective factors, and forming new 21 ones, that buffer people from and enhance 22 their capacity for psychological, emotional, 23 and behavioral wellness and resilience for 24 adversities; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3073.IH H3073 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3073 IH ‘‘(ii) taking a holistic systems perspec- 1 tive that recognizes that most mental 2 health, behavioral health, and psychosocial 3 conditions result from numerous inter- 4 related personal, family, social, economic, 5 and environmental factors that require 6 multipronged community-based interven- 7 tions; and 8 ‘‘(iii) using the best available evidence 9 to take action and implement strategies 10 that support mental health prevention and 11 recovery efforts. 12 ‘‘(2) The term ‘community’ means people, 13 groups, and organizations that reside in or work 14 within a specific geographic area, such as a city, 15 neighborhood, subdivision, or urban, suburban, or 16 rural locale. 17 ‘‘(3) The term ‘community trauma’ means a 18 traumatic event or events that are shared by a com- 19 munity and that have lasting adverse effects on the 20 health and well-being of the community. 21 ‘‘(4) The term ‘protective factors’ means 22 strengths, skills, resources, and characteristics 23 that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3073.IH H3073 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3073 IH ‘‘(A) are associated with a lower likelihood 1 of negative outcomes of adversities; or 2 ‘‘(B) reduce the impact on people of toxic 3 stresses or a traumatic experience. 4 ‘‘(5) The term ‘mental wellness’ means a state 5 of well-being in which an individual experiences posi- 6 tive emotional functioning, pursues self-defined 7 goals, establishes and maintains meaningful relation- 8 ships, and feels a sense of meaning and purpose. At 9 the individual level, well-being is based on funda- 10 mental social, cognitive, and emotional skills that 11 help individuals react, cope, and adapt in healthy 12 ways to stress, uncertainty, adversity, trauma, and 13 change. At the community level, well-being is influ- 14 enced by the social, economic, educational, and envi- 15 ronmental factors and conditions that either enhance 16 or diminish well-being within the community. 17 ‘‘(6) The term ‘psychosocial problem’ refers to 18 social and environmental structures and processes 19 that adversely effect and influence an individual’s 20 mental state. 21 ‘‘(7) The term ‘resilience’ means that people de- 22 velop cognitive, psychological, emotional capabilities 23 and social connections that enable them to calm 24 their body, mind, emotions, and behaviors during 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3073.IH H3073 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3073 IH toxic stresses or traumatic experiences in ways that 1 enable them to— 2 ‘‘(A) respond without negative con- 3 sequences for themselves or others; and 4 ‘‘(B) use the experiences as catalysts to de- 5 velop a constructive new sense of meaning, pur- 6 pose, and hope. 7 ‘‘(8) The term ‘toxic stress’ means exposure to 8 prolonged, severe, and stressful situations with no 9 period of recovery or support. 10 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out this section, 12 there is authorized to be appropriated $36,000,000 13 for the period of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 14 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Of the amount made avail- 15 able to carry out this section for a fiscal year, not 16 more than 5 percent of such funds may be used to 17 carry out subsection (d).’’. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 May 14, 2023 Jkt 03920 [Text truncated for display. 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