Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1700 To address mental health issues for youth, particularly youth of color, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 18, 2023 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. CARPER, Mr. PADILLA, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. SMITH, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. MURPHY, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To address mental health issues for youth, particularly youth of color, 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 ‘‘Pursuing Equity in 4 Mental Health Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PRIMARY AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE GRANT 6 PROGRAM. 7 Section 520K of the Public Health Service Act (42 8 U.S.C. 290bb–42) is amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:15 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1700.IS S1700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1700 IS (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (i) 1 as subsections (e) through (j), respectively; 2 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION REGARDING SERV- 5 ICES FOR RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY GROUPS.—In 6 awarding grants under subsection (b), the Secretary may, 7 as appropriate, give special consideration to eligible enti- 8 ties serving a high proportion of racial and ethnic minority 9 groups.’’; 10 (3) in subsection (c)(2)(G), by striking ‘‘sub- 11 section (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (f)’’; 12 (4) in subsection (h)— 13 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and insert- 14 ing ‘‘subsection (g)’’; and 15 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (d)(2)’’ and in- 16 serting ‘‘subsection (e)(2)’’; and 17 (5) in subsection (j)(1) (as redesignated by 18 paragraph (1)), by striking ‘‘$60,000,000 for each 19 of fiscal years 2023 through 2027’’ and inserting 20 ‘‘$60,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 and $80,000,000 21 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2029’’. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:15 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1700.IS S1700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1700 IS SEC. 3. ADDRESSING RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY MEN- 1 TAL HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH GAPS. 2 Not later than 9 months after the date of the enact- 3 ment of this Act, the Director of the National Institutes 4 of Health, in consultation with the Director of the Na- 5 tional Institute of Mental Health and the Assistant Sec- 6 retary of Substance Use and Mental Health, shall enter 7 into an arrangement with the National Academies of 8 Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (or, if the National 9 Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine decline 10 to enter into such an arrangement, the Patient-Centered 11 Outcomes Research Institute, the Agency for Healthcare 12 Research and Quality, or another appropriate entity)— 13 (1) to conduct a study with respect to mental 14 health disparities research gaps in racial and ethnic 15 minority groups (as defined in section 1707(g) of 16 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u– 17 6(g))); and 18 (2) to submit to the Congress a report on the 19 results of such study, including— 20 (A) a compilation of information on the 21 prevalence of mental health outcomes in such 22 racial and ethnic minority groups; and 23 (B) an assessment of information on the 24 impact of exposure to community violence, ad- 25 verse childhood experiences, structural bias, and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:15 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1700.IS S1700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1700 IS other psychological traumas on mental health 1 outcomes in such racial and minority groups. 2 SEC. 4. HEALTH PROFESSIONS COMPETENCIES TO AD- 3 DRESS RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY MEN- 4 TAL HEALTH DISPARITIES. 5 Section 597 of the Public Health Service Act (42 6 U.S.C. 290ll) is amended— 7 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 8 subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and 9 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol- 10 lowing: 11 ‘‘(b) BEST PRACTICES; CORE COMPETENCIES.—An 12 individual or entity receiving a grant under subsection (a) 13 may use the funds to engage in the following activities 14 related to the development and dissemination of best prac- 15 tices or core competencies addressing mental health dis- 16 parities among racial and ethnic minority groups for use 17 in the training of students in the professions of social 18 work, psychology, psychiatry, marriage and family ther- 19 apy, mental health counseling, and substance misuse coun- 20 seling: 21 ‘‘(1) Formation of committees or working 22 groups comprised of experts from accredited health 23 professions schools to identify best practices and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:15 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1700.IS S1700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1700 IS core competencies relating to mental health dispari- 1 ties among racial and ethnic minority groups. 2 ‘‘(2) Planning of workshops in national fora to 3 allow for public input into the educational needs as- 4 sociated with mental health disparities among racial 5 and ethnic minority groups. 6 ‘‘(3) Dissemination and promotion of the use of 7 best practices or core competencies in undergraduate 8 and graduate health professions training programs 9 nationwide. 10 ‘‘(4) Establishing external advisory boards to 11 provide meaningful input into policy and program 12 development and best practices to reduce mental 13 health disparities among racial and ethnic minority 14 groups.’’. 15 SEC. 5. RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY BEHAVIORAL AND 16 MENTAL HEALTH OUTREACH AND EDU- 17 CATION STRATEGY. 18 Part D of title V of the Public Health Service Act 19 (42 U.S.C. 290dd et seq.) is amended by inserting after 20 section 552 (42 U.S.C. 290ee–7) of such Act the following: 21 ‘‘SEC. 554. BEHAVIORAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OUTREACH 22 AND EDUCATION STRATEGY. 23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, in consulta- 24 tion with advocacy and behavioral and mental health orga- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:15 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1700.IS S1700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1700 IS nizations serving racial and ethnic minority groups, de- 1 velop and implement an outreach and education strategy 2 to promote behavioral and mental health and reduce stig- 3 ma associated with mental health conditions and sub- 4 stance use among racial and ethnic minority groups. Such 5 strategy shall— 6 ‘‘(1) be designed to— 7 ‘‘(A) meet the diverse cultural and lan- 8 guage needs of the various racial and ethnic mi- 9 nority groups; and 10 ‘‘(B) be developmentally and age-appro- 11 priate; 12 ‘‘(2) increase awareness of symptoms of mental 13 illnesses common among such groups, taking into 14 account differences within at-risk subgroups; 15 ‘‘(3) provide information on evidence-based, cul- 16 turally and linguistically appropriate and adapted 17 interventions and treatments; 18 ‘‘(4) ensure full participation of, and engage, 19 both consumers and community members, which 20 may include adolescents and young adults, in the de- 21 velopment and implementation of materials; and 22 ‘‘(5) seek to broaden the perspective among 23 both individuals in these groups and communities 24 serving these groups to use a comprehensive and in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:15 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1700.IS S1700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1700 IS tegrated public health approach to promoting behav- 1 ioral health by focusing on the intersection between 2 behavioral and physical health. 3 ‘‘(b) REPORTS.—Beginning not later than 1 year 4 after the date of the enactment of this section and annu- 5 ally thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress, 6 and make publicly available, a report on the extent to 7 which the strategy developed and implemented under sub- 8 section (a) addressed behavioral and mental health out- 9 comes associated with mental health conditions and sub- 10 stance use among racial and ethnic minority groups. 11 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘racial 12 and ethnic minority group’ has the meaning given to that 13 term in section 1707(g). 14 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 15 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 16 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2029.’’. 17 SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF 18 HEALTH. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to amounts otherwise 20 authorized to be appropriated to the National Institutes 21 of Health, there is authorized to be appropriated to such 22 Institutes $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 23 through 2029 to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:15 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1700.IS S1700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1700 IS (1) build relations with communities and con- 1 duct or support clinical research, including clinical 2 research on racial or ethnic disparities in physical 3 and mental health; and 4 (2) to carry out the Strategic Framework For 5 Addressing Youth Mental Health Disparities devel- 6 oped by the National Institute of Mental Health. 7 (b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘clinical 8 research’’ has the meaning given to such term in section 9 409 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284d). 10 SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON 11 MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARI- 12 TIES. 13 In addition to amounts otherwise authorized to be ap- 14 propriated to the National Institute on Minority Health 15 and Health Disparities, there is authorized to be appro- 16 priated to such Institute $750,000,000 for each of fiscal 17 years 2024 through 2029. 18 SEC. 8. TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 19 Title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 20 290aa et seq.) is amended— 21 (1) by redesignating the second section 550 (42 22 U.S.C. 290ee–10) (relating to Sobriety Treatment 23 And Recovery Teams) as section 553; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:15 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1700.IS S1700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1700 IS (2) by moving such section, as so redesignated, 1 so as to appear after section 552 (42 U.S.C. 290ee– 2 7). 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:15 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1700.IS S1700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS