[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 29, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H5021-H5023]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION GUIDELINES ACT OF 2020
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3539) to amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the
Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop best practices for
the establishment and use of behavioral intervention teams at schools,
and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3539
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 ``Behavioral Intervention
Guidelines Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. BEST PRACTICES FOR BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION TEAMS.
The Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting after
section 520G of such Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-38) the following
new section:
``SEC. 520H. BEST PRACTICES FOR BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION
TEAMS.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the
Assistant Secretary, shall develop and periodically update--
``(1) best practices to assist elementary schools,
secondary schools, and institutions of higher education in
establishing and using behavioral intervention teams; and
``(2) a list of evidence-based threat assessment training
providers to assist personnel in elementary schools,
secondary schools, and institutions of higher education in
implementing such best practices, including with respect to
training behavioral intervention teams.
``(b) Elements.--The best practices under subsection (a)(1)
shall include guidance on the following:
``(1) How behavioral intervention teams can operate
effectively from an evidence-based, objective perspective
while protecting the constitutional and civil rights of
individuals, including any individual of concern.
``(2) The use of behavioral intervention teams to identify
individuals of concern, implement interventions, and manage
risk through the framework of the school's or institution's
rules or code of conduct, as applicable.
``(3) How behavioral intervention teams can, when assessing
an individual of concern--
``(A) seek training on evidence-based, threat-assessment
rubrics;
``(B) ensure that such teams--
``(i) have adequately trained, diverse stakeholders with
varied expertise; and
``(ii) use cross validation by a wide-range of individual
perspectives on the team; and
``(C) use violence risk assessment.
``(4) How behavioral intervention teams can avoid--
``(A) attempting to predict future behavior by the concept
of pre-crime;
``(B) inappropriately using a mental health assessment;
``(C) inappropriately limiting or restricting law
enforcement's jurisdiction over criminal matters;
``(D) attempting to substitute the behavioral intervention
process in place of a criminal process, or impede a criminal
process, when an individual of concern's behavior has
potential criminal implications;
``(E) endangering an individual's privacy by failing to
ensure that all applicable Federal and State privacy laws are
fully complied with; or
``(F) creating school-to-prison pipelines.
``(c) Consultation.--In carrying out subsection (a)(1), the
Secretary shall consult with--
``(1) the Secretary of Education;
``(2) the Director of the National Threat Assessment Center
of the Department of Homeland Security;
``(3) the Attorney General of the United States; and
``(4) as appropriate, relevant stakeholders including--
``(A) teachers and other educators, principals, school
administrators, school board members, school psychologists,
mental health professionals, and parents of elementary school
and secondary school students;
``(B) local law enforcement agencies and campus law
enforcement administrators;
``(C) mental health mobile crisis providers;
``(D) child and adolescent psychiatrists; and
``(E) other education and mental health professionals.
``(d) Publication.--Not later than 2 years after the date
of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall publish the
best practices under subsection (a)(1) and the list under
subsection (a)(2) on a publicly accessible website of the
Department of Health and Human Services.
``(e) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary shall provide
technical assistance to institutions of higher education,
elementary schools, and secondary schools to assist such
institutions and schools in implementing the best practices
under subsection (a).
``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `behavioral intervention team' means a team
of qualified individuals who--
``(A) are responsible for identifying and assessing
individuals of concern; and
``(B) develop and facilitate implementation of evidence-
based interventions to mitigate the threat of harm to self or
others posed by individuals of concern and address the mental
and behavioral health needs of individuals of concern to
reduce such threat.
``(2) The terms `elementary school', `parent', and
`secondary school' have the meanings given to such terms in
section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
``(3) The term `individual of concern' means an individual
whose behavior indicates a potential threat to self or
others.
``(4) The term `institution of higher education' has the
meaning given to such term in section 102 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002).
``(5) The term `mental health assessment' means an
evaluation, primarily focused on diagnosis, determining the
need for involuntary commitment, medication management, and
on-going treatment recommendations.
``(6) The term `pre-crime' means law-enforcement efforts
and strategies to deter crime by predicting when and where
criminal activity will occur.
``(7) The term `violence risk assessment' refers to a broad
determination of the potential risk of violence based on
evidence-based literature.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
General Leave
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on H.R. 3539.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
[[Page H5022]]
There was no objection.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today in support of H.R. 3539, the Behavioral Intervention
Guidelines Act of 2020. The champions of this legislation,
Representatives Drew Ferguson, Michael Burgess, Joe Kennedy, and
Jimmy Panetta, worked together to help provide improved behavioral
health prevention tools to schools and colleges across the country, and
I applaud them for their bipartisan efforts.
Behavioral intervention teams are multidisciplinary teams that
support students' mental health and emotional well-being by detecting
patterns, trends, and disturbances in behavior, and by conducting
outreach to students who are unable to manage distress in healthy and
constructive ways.
These teams are already active in some educational settings, such as
the University of California, Los Angeles; Texas A&M University; and
Virginia Tech.
H.R. 3539 requires the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration to develop best practices for schools that have or want
to have behavioral intervention teams. These best practices would cover
the proper use of these teams and how to intervene and avoid
inappropriate use of mental health assessments and law enforcement.
These best practices would then be required to be posted publicly on
the Department of Health and Human Services website, and HHS would help
to provide technical assistance to entities implementing these best
practices.
As we have heard, Mr. Speaker, three in four children aged 3-17 with
depression also have anxiety. Anxiety and depression are two top mental
health concerns among college students as well. Unfortunately, recent
data found that over 80 percent of young people with mental health
needs did not receive the care they needed.
Young people in crisis should be able to access the care they need or
be able to find support from peers who can direct them toward
appropriate services, and this bill helps bridge that gap.
Again, I want to thank the Democrats and Republicans on my committee,
including Ranking Member Walden, for working together to put this
legislation in shape, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3539, the
Behavioral Intervention Guidelines Act, introduced by Representatives
Ferguson, Burgess, Kennedy, and Panetta.
This important bill authorizes the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration to develop best practices for establishing and
using behavioral intervention teams in elementary schools, secondary
schools, and institutions of higher education.
Behavioral intervention teams are multidisciplinary teams that
support students' mental health and wellness by identifying students
experiencing stress, anxiety, or other behavioral disturbances, and
conducting intervention and outreach to these students to help manage
risk. These teams are already active in some educational institutions
such as Texas Tech University and the University of California, Los
Angeles.
By acting in a proactive manner to assist students and to connect
them with needed resources, behavioral intervention teams help schools
create a safe environment for their students and improve mental health
outcomes in young people.
I urge support of this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Georgia (Mr. Ferguson), the deputy whip of the House on the
Republican side of the aisle, one of the authors of this important
legislation.
Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the chairman and the
ranking member for this opportunity, and I rise to support H.R. 3539.
Every American wants to live in a safe community, and children
deserve to be able to go to safe schools. But all too often, that
safety has been ruined by violence to self or others.
The Behavioral Intervention Guidelines, or BIG, Act combats this
mental health epidemic head-on by providing local communities and
school systems with the tools they need to help identify those most in
need.
All across the country, schools like Columbus State University in my
home State of Georgia and Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas, have
implemented behavioral intervention programs following the 2008 tragedy
at Virginia Tech.
Dr. Chip Reese at Columbus State University and other university
leaders, like Dr. Billy Phillips at Texas Tech, report that, as a
result of these programs, they have seen universities' culture change
and are helping to get at-risk students back on the right track.
This important legislation would foster this approach by providing
Federal guidance in the form of best practices. Once established, these
best practices will be disseminated on the HHS website, and HHS would
provide technical assistance for elementary, secondary, and higher
education institutions that are looking to create their own behavioral
health intervention teams.
Now more than ever, our students should have the proper resources and
a supportive community around them to benefit their mental health. I
strongly urge my colleagues to support this important piece of
legislation.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I thank my colleague for his work on this important legislation.
I want to turn now and use the remainder of the time to recognize the
fact that we all work hard on our legislation, but it doesn't get all
the way here and all the way through without terrific staff. We are
blessed on the Energy and Commerce Committee by having really terrific
staff, from top to bottom.
But today, I especially want to recognize and thank Mike Bloomquist,
my staff director at the Energy and Commerce Committee. He has served
as staff director of the Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans both
during the 115th Congress and the 116th Congress.
He previously served as committee deputy staff director, general
counsel, deputy general counsel, and then as general counsel to the
2011 Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. He has spent time in
private law practice, at the Committee on Science, and in the Office of
the Solicitor at the U.S. Department of the Interior.
He has been an invaluable leader of the Energy and Commerce Committee
staff. He is a trusted counselor. He is a sought-after mentor and a go-
to resource for staff and Members alike, both on and off the committee.
He will be leaving us at the end of this month to pursue private-
sector endeavors. But I just want to say, he has been a real friend to
me, a real counselor to me, and an incredibly solid leader for our
team. He has helped us shepherd major legislation through the House,
which has undoubtedly improved the lives of Americans, through his time
as a public servant.
I think we all wish him the very best in his new endeavor and are
thankful to his wife, Christie, and their three daughters for lending
us their dad so often on nights and weekends and for phone calls, text
messages, and more phone calls from me, day and night.
He has just been terrific to work with. We wish him Godspeed in his
next endeavor.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I don't have any additional speakers, but I do want also to praise
Mike Bloomquist.
He is now the Republican staff director, but he has had several tours
with the committee. He worked on some major legislation in the
committee. I think of 21st Century Cures, robocalls, and, even today,
getting the cyber bills passed, which was not an easy task, as you
know, Mike.
I know that our Ranking Member Walden mentioned your family. I don't
know how your family puts up with any of the things we do because I
know the many hours that you have to spend. So, again, thank your
family for sharing you.
I wish you well in your future endeavors as well.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
[[Page H5023]]
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
I would just conclude my remarks by, again, speaking in favor of the
underlying legislation, but also thanking Mike and his team for doing
such a great job throughout this Congress and the preceding one to help
all of us come together and solve the Nation's problems to the best of
our ability. They really are a talented team, and we have been
fortunate to have Mike at the helm.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the legislation, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3539, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________