[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4941 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4941

 To amend title V of the Public Health Service Act to establish within 
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration a Center 
           for Unhoused Individuals, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 26, 2023

   Mr. Schiff (for himself, Ms. Pelosi, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. 
Crockett, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Keating, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. McGarvey, 
  Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. Norton, Ms. Sanchez, and Mrs. Watson Coleman) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title V of the Public Health Service Act to establish within 
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration a Center 
           for Unhoused Individuals, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Providing Access to Treatment and 
Housing Act of 2023'' or the ``PATH Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. CENTER FOR UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS.

    Part B of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

              ``Subpart 4--Center for Unhoused Individuals

``SEC. 520O. CENTER FOR UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS.

    ``(a) In General.--There is established in the Administration a 
Center for Unhoused Individuals (in this section referred to as the 
`Center') to lead Federal efforts to improve and expand access to 
mental and behavioral health services for unhoused individuals. The 
Center shall be headed by a director (in this section referred to as 
the `Director') appointed by the Secretary from among individuals with 
extensive experience or academic qualifications in the provision of 
mental and behavioral health services to unhoused individuals.
    ``(b) Duties.--The Director of the Center shall--
            ``(1) develop and promote policies that expand access to 
        mental and behavioral health services for unhoused individuals;
            ``(2) develop and promote policies that support housing 
        services for unhoused individuals that have, or likely have, at 
        least one mental and behavioral health condition;
            ``(3) facilitate coordination among--
                    ``(A) Federal, State, and local entities that serve 
                unhoused individuals; and
                    ``(B) entities that provide mental and behavioral 
                health services; and
            ``(4) provide technical assistance to entities receiving a 
        grant under section 520O-1 regarding the use of Federal funds 
        to best support mental and behavioral health services for 
        unhoused individuals.
    ``(c) Grants and Cooperative Agreements.--In carrying out the 
duties under subsection (b), the Director may make grants to and enter 
into contracts and cooperative agreements with public and nonprofit 
private entities.
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2024 through 2029.

``SEC. 520O-1. MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH RESPONSE GRANTS FOR 
              UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, shall establish a grant 
program under which the Secretary will award grants to eligible 
entities to improve mental and behavioral health and housing services 
for unhoused individuals, including through--
            ``(1) the expansion and improvement of mental and 
        behavioral health services for unhoused individuals; and
            ``(2) the expansion and improvement of housing services for 
        individuals experiencing, or likely experiencing, mental and 
        behavioral health conditions.
    ``(b) Eligibility.--An entity is eligible to receive a grant under 
this section if such entity is--
            ``(1) a State (as defined in section 534);
            ``(2) a municipality or other unit of local government; or
            ``(3) an Indian Tribe (as defined in section 4 of the 
        Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act).
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--An entity may use funds received through a 
grant under this section to increase access to mental and behavioral 
health services for unhoused individuals, including through--
            ``(1) expanding access to evidence-based substance use 
        disorder treatment and recovery activities and services for 
        unhoused individuals;
            ``(2) increasing access to medication-assisted treatment 
        for unhoused individuals who are also experiencing opioid use 
        disorder;
            ``(3) implementing and expanding harm reduction strategies 
        and services through programs that serve unhoused individuals;
            ``(4) reducing opioid and synthetic opioid or fentanyl 
        overdose deaths among unhoused individuals;
            ``(5) implementing and expanding evidence-based substance 
        use disorder prevention strategies among unhoused individuals;
            ``(6) expanding and increasing care coordination for 
        unhoused individuals experiencing a mental and behavioral 
        health condition;
            ``(7) expanding access to and increasing the number of 
        health care professionals who treat unhoused individuals 
        experiencing at least one mental and behavioral health 
        condition;
            ``(8) establishing and expanding housing programs targeting 
        unhoused individuals experiencing mental and behavioral health 
        conditions;
            ``(9) expanding access to mental and behavioral health 
        diagnostic services for unhoused individuals;
            ``(10) supporting and expanding the mental and behavioral 
        health care workforce that treats unhoused individuals; and
            ``(11) supporting and expanding evidence-based mental 
        health training for non-health care professionals that 
        interface frequently with unhoused individuals, such as law 
        enforcement personnel and first responders.
    ``(d) Allocation.--
            ``(1) In general.--Of the amount made available to carry 
        out this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
        distribute a portion of such amount to eligible entities 
        selected to receive a grant under this section on the basis of 
        a formula developed by the Secretary.
            ``(2) Prioritization.--The formula developed by the 
        Secretary under paragraph (1) shall prioritize eligible 
        entities located in regions that--
                    ``(A) experience high rates of homelessness and 
                housing instability; and
                    ``(B) experience above-average housing costs.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2024 through 2029.

``SEC. 520O-2. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this subpart:
            ``(1) Mental and behavioral health.--The term `mental and 
        behavioral health' means the health of an individual as it 
        pertains to mental illness, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and 
        substance use disorders.
            ``(2) Unhoused individual.--The term `unhoused individual' 
        has the meaning given the term `homeless individual' in section 
        103(a) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.''.
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