HERO Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1925 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 12, 2023 Ms. ROSEN (for herself and Mrs. FISCHER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions 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 23:45 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1925.IS S1925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1925 IS 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 after section 317V of such Act (42 U.S.C. 247b–24) 4 the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 317W. DATA SYSTEM TO CAPTURE NATIONAL PUBLIC 6 SAFETY OFFICER SUICIDE INCIDENCE. 7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordination 8 with other agencies as the Secretary determines appro- 9 priate, may— 10 ‘‘(1) develop and maintain a data system, to be 11 known as the Public Safety Officer Suicide Report- 12 ing System, for the purposes of— 13 ‘‘(A) collecting data on the suicide inci- 14 dence among public safety officers; and 15 ‘‘(B) facilitating the study of successful 16 interventions to reduce suicide among public 17 safety officers; and 18 ‘‘(2) integrate such system into the National 19 Violent Death Reporting System, so long as the Sec- 20 retary determines such integration to be consistent 21 with the purposes described in paragraph (1). 22 ‘‘(b) DATA COLLECTION.—In collecting data for the 23 Public Safety Officer Suicide Reporting System, the Sec- 24 retary shall, at a minimum, collect the following informa- 25 tion: 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1925.IS S1925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1925 IS ‘‘(1) The total number of suicides in the United 1 States among all public safety officers in a given cal- 2 endar year. 3 ‘‘(2) Suicide rates for public safety officers in 4 a given calendar year, disaggregated by— 5 ‘‘(A) age and gender of the public safety 6 officer; 7 ‘‘(B) State; 8 ‘‘(C) occupation; including both the indi- 9 vidual’s role in their public safety agency and 10 their primary occupation in the case of volun- 11 teer public safety officers; 12 ‘‘(D) where available, the status of the 13 public safety officer as volunteer, paid-on-call, 14 or career; and 15 ‘‘(E) where available, the status of the 16 public safety officer as active or retired. 17 ‘‘(c) DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY.—In developing 18 and maintaining the Public Safety Officer Suicide Report- 19 ing System, the Secretary shall ensure that all applicable 20 Federal privacy and security protections are followed to 21 ensure that— 22 ‘‘(1) the confidentiality and anonymity of sui- 23 cide victims and their families are protected, includ- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1925.IS S1925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1925 IS ing so as to ensure that data cannot be used to deny 1 benefits; and 2 ‘‘(2) data is sufficiently secure to prevent unau- 3 thorized access. 4 ‘‘(d) REPORTING.— 5 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 6 after the date of enactment of the Helping Emer- 7 gency Responders Overcome Act, and biannually 8 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report to the 9 Congress on the suicide incidence among public safe- 10 ty officers. Each such report shall— 11 ‘‘(A) include the number and rate of such 12 suicide incidence, disaggregated by age, gender, 13 and State of employment; 14 ‘‘(B) identify characteristics and contrib- 15 uting circumstances for suicide among public 16 safety officers; 17 ‘‘(C) disaggregate rates of suicide by— 18 ‘‘(i) occupation; 19 ‘‘(ii) status as volunteer, paid-on-call, 20 or career, where available; and 21 ‘‘(iii) status as active or retired, where 22 available; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1925.IS S1925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1925 IS ‘‘(D) include recommendations for further 1 study regarding the suicide incidence among 2 public safety officers; 3 ‘‘(E) specify in detail any obstacles in col- 4 lecting suicide rates for volunteers and include 5 recommended improvements to overcome such 6 obstacles; 7 ‘‘(F) identify options for interventions to 8 reduce suicide among public safety officers; and 9 ‘‘(G) describe procedures to ensure the 10 confidentiality and anonymity of suicide victims 11 and their families, as described in subsection 12 (c)(1). 13 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Upon the submis- 14 sion of each report to the Congress under paragraph 15 (1), the Secretary shall make the full report publicly 16 available on the website of the Centers for Disease 17 Control and Prevention. 18 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘public 19 safety officer’ means— 20 ‘‘(1) a public safety officer as defined in section 21 1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 22 Streets Act of 1968; or 23 ‘‘(2) a public safety telecommunicator as de- 24 scribed in detailed occupation 43–5031 in the Stand- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1925.IS S1925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1925 IS ard Occupational Classification Manual of the Office 1 of Management and Budget (2018). 2 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITED USE OF INFORMATION.—Notwith- 3 standing any other provision of law, if an individual is 4 identified as deceased based on information contained in 5 the Public Safety Officer Suicide Reporting System, such 6 information may not be used to deny or rescind life insur- 7 ance payments or other benefits to a survivor of the de- 8 ceased individual.’’. 9 SEC. 3. PEER-SUPPORT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND 10 WELLNESS PROGRAMS WITHIN FIRE DEPART- 11 MENTS AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE 12 AGENCIES. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of title III of the Public 14 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended 15 by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘SEC. 320C. PEER-SUPPORT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND 17 WELLNESS PROGRAMS WITHIN FIRE DEPART- 18 MENTS AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE 19 AGENCIES. 20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award grants 21 to eligible entities for the purpose of establishing or en- 22 hancing peer-support behavioral health and wellness pro- 23 grams within fire departments and emergency medical 24 services agencies. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1925.IS S1925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1925 IS ‘‘(b) PROGRAM DESCRIPTION.—A peer-support be- 1 havioral health and wellness program funded under this 2 section shall— 3 ‘‘(1) use career and volunteer members of fire 4 departments or emergency medical services agencies 5 to serve as peer counselors; 6 ‘‘(2) provide training to members of career, vol- 7 unteer, and combination fire departments or emer- 8 gency medical service agencies to serve as such peer 9 counselors; 10 ‘‘(3) purchase materials to be used exclusively 11 to provide such training; or 12 ‘‘(4) disseminate such information and mate- 13 rials as are necessary to conduct the program. 14 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—In this section: 15 ‘‘(1) The term ‘eligible entity’ means a non- 16 profit organization with expertise and experience 17 with respect to the health and life safety of members 18 of fire and emergency medical services agencies. 19 ‘‘(2) The term ‘member’— 20 ‘‘(A) with respect to an emergency medical 21 services agency, means an employee who is a 22 member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew 23 (as defined in section 1204 of title I of the Om- 24 nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1925.IS S1925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1925 IS 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284)), regardless of rank or 1 whether the employee receives compensation; 2 and 3 ‘‘(B) with respect to a fire department, 4 means any employee, regardless of rank or 5 whether the employee receives compensation, of 6 a Federal, State, Tribal, or local fire depart- 7 ment who is responsible for responding to calls 8 for emergency service.’’. 9 (b) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Effective as if in- 10 cluded in the enactment of the Children’s Health Act of 11 2000 (Public Law 106–310), the amendment instruction 12 in section 1603 of such Act is amended by striking ‘‘Part 13 B of the Public Health Service Act’’ and inserting ‘‘Part 14 B of title III of the Public Health Service Act’’. 15 SEC. 4. DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCES FOR EDUCATING 16 MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS ABOUT 17 TREATING FIRE FIGHTERS AND EMERGENCY 18 MEDICAL SERVICES PERSONNEL. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in consulta- 20 tion with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 21 shall develop and make publicly available resources that 22 may be used by the Federal Government and other entities 23 to educate mental health professionals about— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1925.IS S1925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1925 IS (1) the culture of Federal, State, Tribal, and 1 local career, volunteer, and combination fire depart- 2 ments and emergency medical services agencies; 3 (2) the different stressors experienced by fire- 4 fighters and emergency medical services personnel, 5 supervisory firefighters and emergency medical serv- 6 ices personnel, and chief officers of fire departments 7 and emergency medical services agencies; 8 (3) challenges encountered by retired fire- 9 fighters and emergency medical services personnel; 10 and 11 (4) evidence-based therapies for mental health 12 issues common to firefighters and emergency med- 13 ical services personnel within such departments and 14 agencies. 15 (b) CONSULTATION.—In developing resources under 16 subsection (a), the Administrator, in coordination with the 17 Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall consult 18 with national fire and emergency medical services organi- 19 zations. 20 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 21 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 22 trator’’ means the Administrator of the United 23 States Fire Administration. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1925.IS S1925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1925 IS (2) CHIEF OFFICER.—The term ‘‘chief officer’’ 1 means any individual who is responsible for the over- 2 all operation of a fire department or an emergency 3 medical services agency, irrespective of whether such 4 individual also serves as a firefighter or emergency 5 medical services personnel. 6 (3) EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PER- 7 SONNEL.—The term ‘‘emergency medical services 8 personnel’’ means an employee who is a member of 9 a rescue squad or ambulance crew (as defined in sec- 10 tion 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 11 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284)), 12 regardless of rank or whether the employee receives 13 compensation. 14 (4) FIREFIGHTER.—The term ‘‘firefighter’’ 15 means any employee, regardless of rank or whether 16 the employee receives compensation, of a Federal, 17 State, Tribal, or local fire department who is respon- 18 sible for responding to calls for emergency service. 19 SEC. 5. BEST PRACTICES AND OTHER RESOURCES FOR AD- 20 DRESSING POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DIS- 21 ORDER IN PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS. 22 (a) DEVELOPMENT; UPDATES.—The Secretary of 23 Health and Human Services shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1925.IS S1925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1925 IS (1) develop and assemble evidence-based best 1 practices and other resources to identify, prevent, 2 and treat posttraumatic stress disorder and co-oc- 3 curring disorders in public safety officers; and 4 (2) reassess and update, as the Secretary deter- 5 mines necessary, such best practices and resources, 6 including based upon the options for interventions to 7 reduce suicide among public safety officers identified 8 in the annual reports required by section 9 317W(d)(1)(F) of the Public Health Service Act, as 10 added by section 2 of this Act. 11 (b) CONSULTATION.—In developing, assembling, and 12 updating the best practices and resources under sub- 13 section (a), the Secretary of Health and Human Services 14 shall consult with, at a minimum, the following: 15 (1) Public health experts. 16 (2) Mental health experts with experience in 17 studying suicide and other profession-related trau- 18 matic stress. 19 (3) Clinicians with experience in diagnosing and 20 treating mental health issues. 21 (4) Relevant national police, fire, and emer- 22 gency medical services organizations. 23 (c) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary of Health and 24 Human Services shall make the best practices and re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1925.IS S1925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1925 IS sources under subsection (a) available to Federal, State, 1 and local fire, law enforcement, and emergency medical 2 services agencies. 3 (d) FEDERAL TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PRO- 4 GRAMS.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services 5 shall work with Federal departments and agencies, includ- 6 ing the United States Fire Administration, to incorporate 7 education and training on the best practices and resources 8 under subsection (a) into Federal training and develop- 9 ment programs for public safety officers. 10 (e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘public 11 safety officer’’ means— 12 (1) a public safety officer, as defined in section 13 1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 14 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284); or 15 (2) a public safety telecommunicator, as de- 16 scribed in detailed occupation 43–5031 in the Stand- 17 ard Occupational Classification Manual of the Office 18 of Management and Budget (2018). 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BI [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]