HERO Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3671 To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to improve the detection, prevention, and treatment of mental health issues among public safety officers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 25, 2023 Mr. BERA (for himself, Mr. TONKO, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. NORTON, Ms. DE LA CRUZ, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CARSON, Mr. KILMER, Ms. TITUS, Ms. WILD, and Mr. TRONE) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com- merce, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech- nology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to improve the detection, prevention, and treatment of mental health issues among public safety officers, 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 ‘‘Helping Emergency 4 Responders Overcome Act’’ or the ‘‘HERO Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3671 IH SEC. 2. DATA SYSTEM TO CAPTURE NATIONAL PUBLIC 1 SAFETY OFFICER SUICIDE INCIDENCE. 2 The Public Health Service Act is amended by insert- 3 ing before section 318 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 247c) the 4 following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 317V. DATA SYSTEM TO CAPTURE NATIONAL PUBLIC 6 SAFETY OFFICER SUICIDE INCIDENCE. 7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordination 8 with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 9 Prevention and other agencies as the Secretary determines 10 appropriate, may— 11 ‘‘(1) develop and maintain a data system, to be 12 known as the Public Safety Officer Suicide Report- 13 ing System, for the purposes of— 14 ‘‘(A) collecting data on the suicide inci- 15 dence among public safety officers; and 16 ‘‘(B) facilitating the study of successful 17 interventions to reduce suicide among public 18 safety officers; and 19 ‘‘(2) integrate such system into the National 20 Violent Death Reporting System, so long as the Sec- 21 retary determines such integration to be consistent 22 with the purposes described in paragraph (1). 23 ‘‘(b) DATA COLLECTION.—In collecting data for the 24 Public Safety Officer Suicide Reporting System, the Sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3671 IH retary shall, at a minimum, collect the following informa- 1 tion: 2 ‘‘(1) The total number of suicides in the United 3 States among all public safety officers in a given cal- 4 endar year. 5 ‘‘(2) Suicide rates for public safety officers in 6 a given calendar year, disaggregated by— 7 ‘‘(A) age and gender of the public safety 8 officer; 9 ‘‘(B) State; 10 ‘‘(C) occupation; including both the indi- 11 vidual’s role in their public safety agency and 12 their primary occupation in the case of volun- 13 teer public safety officers; 14 ‘‘(D) where available, the status of the 15 public safety officer as volunteer, paid-on-call, 16 or career; and 17 ‘‘(E) status of the public safety officer as 18 active or retired. 19 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION DURING DEVELOPMENT.—In 20 developing the Public Safety Officer Suicide Reporting 21 System, the Secretary shall consult with non-Federal ex- 22 perts to determine the best means to collect data regard- 23 ing suicide incidence in a safe, sensitive, anonymous, and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3671 IH effective manner. Such non-Federal experts shall include, 1 as appropriate, the following: 2 ‘‘(1) Public health experts with experience in 3 developing and maintaining suicide registries. 4 ‘‘(2) Organizations that track suicide among 5 public safety officers. 6 ‘‘(3) Mental health experts with experience in 7 studying suicide and other profession-related trau- 8 matic stress. 9 ‘‘(4) Clinicians with experience in diagnosing 10 and treating mental health issues. 11 ‘‘(5) Active and retired volunteer, paid-on-call, 12 and career public safety officers. 13 ‘‘(6) Relevant national police, and fire and 14 emergency medical services, organizations. 15 ‘‘(d) DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY.—In developing 16 and maintaining the Public Safety Officer Suicide Report- 17 ing System, the Secretary shall ensure that all applicable 18 Federal privacy and security protections are followed to 19 ensure that— 20 ‘‘(1) the confidentiality and anonymity of sui- 21 cide victims and their families are protected, includ- 22 ing so as to ensure that data cannot be used to deny 23 benefits; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3671 IH ‘‘(2) data is sufficiently secure to prevent unau- 1 thorized access. 2 ‘‘(e) REPORTING.— 3 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 4 after the date of enactment of the Helping Emer- 5 gency Responders Overcome Act, and biannually 6 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report to the 7 Congress on the suicide incidence among public safe- 8 ty officers. Each such report shall— 9 ‘‘(A) include the number and rate of such 10 suicide incidence, disaggregated by age, gender, 11 and State of employment; 12 ‘‘(B) identify characteristics and contrib- 13 uting circumstances for suicide among public 14 safety officers; 15 ‘‘(C) disaggregate rates of suicide by— 16 ‘‘(i) occupation; 17 ‘‘(ii) status as volunteer, paid-on-call, 18 or career; and 19 ‘‘(iii) status as active or retired; 20 ‘‘(D) include recommendations for further 21 study regarding the suicide incidence among 22 public safety officers; 23 ‘‘(E) specify in detail, if found, any obsta- 24 cles in collecting suicide rates for volunteers 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3671 IH and include recommended improvements to 1 overcome such obstacles; 2 ‘‘(F) identify options for interventions to 3 reduce suicide among public safety officers; and 4 ‘‘(G) describe procedures to ensure the 5 confidentiality and anonymity of suicide victims 6 and their families, as described in subsection 7 (d)(1). 8 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Upon the submis- 9 sion of each report to the Congress under paragraph 10 (1), the Secretary shall make the full report publicly 11 available on the website of the Centers for Disease 12 Control and Prevention. 13 ‘‘(f) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘public 14 safety officer’ means— 15 ‘‘(1) a public safety officer as defined in section 16 1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 17 Streets Act of 1968; or 18 ‘‘(2) a public safety telecommunicator as de- 19 scribed in detailed occupation 43–5031 in the Stand- 20 ard Occupational Classification Manual of the Office 21 of Management and Budget (2018). 22 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITED USE OF INFORMATION.—Notwith- 23 standing any other provision of law, if an individual is 24 identified as deceased based on information contained in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3671 IH the Public Safety Officer Suicide Reporting System, such 1 information may not be used to deny or rescind life insur- 2 ance payments or other benefits to a survivor of the de- 3 ceased individual.’’. 4 SEC. 3. PEER-SUPPORT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND 5 WELLNESS PROGRAMS WITHIN FIRE DEPART- 6 MENTS AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE 7 AGENCIES. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of title III of the Public 9 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended 10 by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘SEC. 320C. PEER-SUPPORT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND 12 WELLNESS PROGRAMS WITHIN FIRE DEPART- 13 MENTS AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE 14 AGENCIES. 15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award grants 16 to eligible entities for the purpose of establishing or en- 17 hancing peer-support behavioral health and wellness pro- 18 grams within fire departments and emergency medical 19 services agencies. 20 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM DESCRIPTION.—A peer-support be- 21 havioral health and wellness program funded under this 22 section shall— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3671 IH ‘‘(1) use career and volunteer members of fire 1 departments or emergency medical services agencies 2 to serve as peer counselors; 3 ‘‘(2) provide training to members of career, vol- 4 unteer, and combination fire departments or emer- 5 gency medical service agencies to serve as such peer 6 counselors; 7 ‘‘(3) purchase materials to be used exclusively 8 to provide such training; and 9 ‘‘(4) disseminate such information and mate- 10 rials as are necessary to conduct the program. 11 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—In this section: 12 ‘‘(1) The term ‘eligible entity’ means a non- 13 profit organization with expertise and experience 14 with respect to the health and life safety of members 15 of fire and emergency medical services agencies. 16 ‘‘(2) The term ‘member’— 17 ‘‘(A) with respect to an emergency medical 18 services agency, means an employee, regardless 19 of rank or whether the employee receives com- 20 pensation (as defined in section 1204(7) of the 21 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 22 1968); and 23 ‘‘(B) with respect to a fire department, 24 means any employee, regardless of rank or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3671 IH whether the employee receives compensation, of 1 a Federal, State, Tribal, or local fire depart- 2 ment who is responsible for responding to calls 3 for emergency service.’’. 4 (b) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Effective as if in- 5 cluded in the enactment of the Children’s Health Act of 6 2000 (Public Law 106–310), the amendment instruction 7 in section 1603 of such Act is amended by striking ‘‘Part 8 B of the Public Health Service Act’’ and inserting ‘‘Part 9 B of title III of the Public Health Service Act’’. 10 SEC. 4. HEALTH CARE PROVIDER BEHAVIORAL HEALTH 11 AND WELLNESS PROGRAMS. 12 Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act 13 (42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.), as amended by section 3, is fur- 14 ther amended by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘SEC. 320D. HEALTH CARE PROVIDER BEHAVIORAL 16 HEALTH AND WELLNESS PROGRAMS. 17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award grants 18 to eligible entities for the purpose of establishing or en- 19 hancing behavioral health and wellness programs for 20 health care providers. 21 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM DESCRIPTION.—A behavioral health 22 and wellness program funded under this section shall— 23 ‘‘(1) provide confidential support services for 24 health care providers to help handle stressful or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3671 IH traumatic patient-related events, including coun- 1 seling services and wellness seminars; 2 ‘‘(2) provide training to health care providers to 3 serve as peer counselors to other health care pro- 4 viders; 5 ‘‘(3) purchase materials to be used exclusively 6 to provide such training; and 7 ‘‘(4) disseminate such information and mate- 8 rials as are necessary to conduct such training and 9 provide such peer counseling. 10 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘eligible 11 entity’ means a hospital, including a critical access hos- 12 pital (as defined in section 1861(mm)(1) of the Social Se- 13 curity Act) or a disproportionate share hospital (as defined 14 under section 1923(a)(1)(A) of such Act), a Federally- 15 qualified health center (as defined in section 16 1905(1)(2)(B) of such Act), or any other health care facil- 17 ity.’’. 18 SEC. 5. DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCES FOR EDUCATING 19 MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS ABOUT 20 TREATING FIRE FIGHTERS AND EMERGENCY 21 MEDICAL SERVICES PERSONNEL. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the United 23 States Fire Administration, in consultation with the Sec- 24 retary of Health and Human Services, shall develop and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3671 IH make publicly available resources that may be used by the 1 Federal Government and other entities to educate mental 2 health professionals about— 3 (1) the culture of Federal, State, Tribal, and 4 local career, volunteer, and combination fire depart- 5 ments and emergency medical services agencies; 6 (2) the different stressors experienced by fire- 7 fighters and emergency medical services personnel, 8 supervisory firefighters and emergency medical serv- 9 ices personnel, and chief officers of fire departments 10 and emergency medical services agencies; 11 (3) challenges encountered by retired fire- 12 fighters and emergency medical services personnel; 13 and 14 (4) evidence-based therapies for mental health 15 issues common to firefighters and emergency med- 16 ical services personnel within such departments and 17 agencies. 18 (b) CONSULTATION.—In developing resources under 19 subsection (a), the Administrator of the United States 20 Fire Administration and the Secretary of Health and 21 Human Services shall consult with national fire and emer- 22 gency medical services organizations. 23 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3671 IH (1) The term ‘‘firefighter’’ means any employee, 1 regardless of rank or whether the employee receives 2 compensation, of a Federal, State, Tribal, or local 3 fire department who is responsible for responding to 4 calls for emergency service. 5 (2) The term ‘‘emergency medical services per- 6 sonnel’’ means any employee, regardless of rank or 7 whether the employee receives compensation, as de- 8 fined in section 1204(7) of the Omnibus Crime Con- 9 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10 10284(7)). 11 (3) The term ‘‘chief officer’’ means any indi- 12 vidual who is responsible for the overall operation of 13 a fire [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]