[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10349 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10349
To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to establish a Public Safety Mental Health
Fellowship Program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 10, 2026
Mr. Tran (for himself, Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, and
Mr. Lawler) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to establish a Public Safety Mental Health
Fellowship Program, 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 ``Emergency Responders Mental Health
Training Act'' or the ``EMT Act''.
SEC. 2. PUBLIC SAFETY MENTAL HEALTH FELLOWSHIPS.
(a) Establishment of Program.--Part D of title V of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290dd) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``SEC. 554. PUBLIC SAFETY MENTAL HEALTH FELLOWSHIPS.
``(a) Establishment of Program.--The Secretary shall establish a
pilot program, to be known as the Public Safety Mental Health
Fellowship Program (in this section referred to as the `program'),
under which the Secretary shall award fellowships, which may include
stipends, for the purposes of--
``(1) increasing the knowledge of mental health and
substance use disorders treatment practitioners on issues
related to prevention, treatment, and recovery support for
individuals who are emergency response providers and who have a
mental health or substance use disorder;
``(2) improving the quality of mental health and substance
use disorders prevention and treatment services delivered to
emergency response providers; and
``(3) increasing the number of culturally competent mental
health and substance use disorders treatment professionals who
teach, administer services, conduct research, and provide
direct mental health or substance use disorders services to
emergency response providers.
``(b) Training Covered.--The fellowships awarded under subsection
(a) shall be for postbaccalaureate training (including for master's and
doctoral degrees) for mental health and substance use disorders
treatment professionals, including in the fields of psychiatry,
nursing, social work, psychology, marriage and family therapy, mental
health counseling, and substance use disorder and addiction counseling.
``(c) Definition.--In this section:
``(1) Culturally competent mental health and substance use
disorders treatment professional.--The term `culturally
competent mental health and substance use disorders treatment
professional' means an individual--
``(A) with familiarity with, and understanding of,
the duties and unique stressors of emergency response
providers, which may include experience working as a
emergency response provider;
``(B) who has completed a trauma-informed and
culturally competent training curriculum, as the
Secretary determines appropriate; and
``(C) who has distinct knowledge of, and is trained
on the unique aspects of, confidentiality and
testimonial privilege.
``(2) Emergency response provider.--The term `emergency
response provider' includes the personnel of Federal, State,
and local governmental and nongovernmental entities who provide
emergency public safety, fire, law enforcement, emergency
response, or emergency medical (including hospital emergency)
services, and related personnel.
``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2028 through 2033.''.
(b) Deadline.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish
the Public Safety Mental Health Fellowship Program under section 554(a)
of the Public Health Service Act (as added by subsection (a) of this
section) (in this section referred to as the ``program'').
(c) Reports to Congress.--
(1) In general.--
(A) Initial report.--Not later than 2 years after
the date of establishment of the program, the Secretary
shall submit to Congress a report that--
(i) analyzes the efficiency of the program;
and
(ii) assesses the impact of the program on
patient outcomes and system costs.
(B) Final report.--Not later than 5 years after the
date of establishment of the program, the Secretary
shall submit to Congress an updated version of the
report to be submitted under subparagraph (A).
(2) Elements.--The reports to be submitted under paragraph
(1) shall each contain a description of--
(A) the details of the program;
(B) the implementation of the program;
(C) the medical issues being addressed by
fellowships awarded under the program;
(D) the strategies developed under the program in
providing mental health and substance use disorders
prevention and treatment services;
(E) any successes of and problems associated with
the program;
(F) the impact of fellowships awarded under the
program on the health (including behavioral health) of
emergency response providers; and
(G) recommendations regarding reauthorizing,
reforming, or terminating the program.
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