[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4811-S4812]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2494. Ms. ROSEN (for herself, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Ricketts, and Mr.
Padilla) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the
bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle H of title X, insert the following:
SEC. 10__. HELPING EMERGENCY RESPONDERS OVERCOME ACT.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the
``Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Act'' or the ``HERO
Act''.
(b) Data System to Capture National Public Safety Officer
Suicide Incidence.--The Public Health Service Act is amended
by inserting after section 317V of such Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-
24) the following:
``SEC. 317W. DATA SYSTEM TO CAPTURE NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY
OFFICER SUICIDE INCIDENCE.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, in coordination with
other agencies as the Secretary determines appropriate, may--
``(1) develop and maintain a data system, to be known as
the Public Safety Officer Suicide Reporting System, for the
purposes of--
``(A) collecting data on the suicide incidence among public
safety officers; and
``(B) facilitating the study of successful interventions to
reduce suicide among public safety officers; and
``(2) integrate such system into the National Violent Death
Reporting System, so long as the Secretary determines such
integration to be consistent with the purposes described in
paragraph (1).
``(b) Data Collection.--In collecting data for the Public
Safety Officer Suicide Reporting System, the Secretary shall,
at a minimum, collect the following information:
``(1) The total number of suicides in the United States
among all public safety officers in a given calendar year.
``(2) Suicide rates for public safety officers in a given
calendar year, disaggregated by--
``(A) age and gender of the public safety officer;
``(B) State;
``(C) occupation; including both the individual's role in
their public safety agency and their primary occupation in
the case of volunteer public safety officers;
``(D) where available, the status of the public safety
officer as volunteer, paid-on-call, or career; and
``(E) where available, the status of the public safety
officer as active or retired.
``(c) Data Privacy and Security.--In developing and
maintaining the Public Safety Officer Suicide Reporting
System, the Secretary shall ensure that all applicable
Federal privacy and security protections are followed to
ensure that--
``(1) the confidentiality and anonymity of suicide victims
and their families are protected, including so as to ensure
that data cannot be used to deny benefits; and
``(2) data is sufficiently secure to prevent unauthorized
access.
``(d) Reporting.--
``(1) Annual report.--Not later than 2 years after the date
of enactment of the Helping Emergency Responders Overcome
Act, and biannually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a
report to the Congress on the suicide incidence among public
safety officers. Each such report shall--
[[Page S4812]]
``(A) include the number and rate of such suicide
incidence, disaggregated by age, gender, and State of
employment;
``(B) identify characteristics and contributing
circumstances for suicide among public safety officers;
``(C) disaggregate rates of suicide by--
``(i) occupation;
``(ii) status as volunteer, paid-on-call, or career, where
available; and
``(iii) status as active or retired, where available;
``(D) include recommendations for further study regarding
the suicide incidence among public safety officers;
``(E) specify in detail any obstacles in collecting suicide
rates for volunteers and include recommended improvements to
overcome such obstacles;
``(F) identify options for interventions to reduce suicide
among public safety officers; and
``(G) describe procedures to ensure the confidentiality and
anonymity of suicide victims and their families, as described
in subsection (c)(1).
``(2) Public availability.--Upon the submission of each
report to the Congress under paragraph (1), the Secretary
shall make the full report publicly available on the website
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
``(e) Definition.--In this section, the term `public safety
officer' means--
``(1) a public safety officer as defined in section 1204 of
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968; or
``(2) a public safety telecommunicator as described in
detailed occupation 43-5031 in the Standard Occupational
Classification Manual of the Office of Management and Budget
(2018).
``(f) Prohibited Use of Information.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, if an individual is identified as
deceased based on information contained in the Public Safety
Officer Suicide Reporting System, such information may not be
used to deny or rescind life insurance payments or other
benefits to a survivor of the deceased individual.''.
(c) Peer-support Behavioral Health and Wellness Programs
Within Fire Departments and Emergency Medical Service
Agencies.--
(1) In general.--Part B of title III of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``SEC. 320C. PEER-SUPPORT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS
PROGRAMS WITHIN FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND EMERGENCY
MEDICAL SERVICE AGENCIES.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary may award grants to
eligible entities for the purpose of establishing or
enhancing peer-support behavioral health and wellness
programs within fire departments and emergency medical
services agencies.
``(b) Program Description.--A peer-support behavioral
health and wellness program funded under this section shall--
``(1) use career and volunteer members of fire departments
or emergency medical services agencies to serve as peer
counselors;
``(2) provide training to members of career, volunteer, and
combination fire departments or emergency medical service
agencies to serve as such peer counselors;
``(3) purchase materials to be used exclusively to provide
such training; or
``(4) disseminate such information and materials as are
necessary to conduct the program.
``(c) Definition.--In this section:
``(1) The term `eligible entity' means a nonprofit
organization with expertise and experience with respect to
the health and life safety of members of fire and emergency
medical services agencies.
``(2) The term `member'--
``(A) with respect to an emergency medical services agency,
means an employee who is a member of a rescue squad or
ambulance crew (as defined in section 1204 of title I of the
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C.
10284)), regardless of rank or whether the employee receives
compensation; and
``(B) with respect to a fire department, means any
employee, regardless of rank or whether the employee receives
compensation, of a Federal, State, Tribal, or local fire
department who is responsible for responding to calls for
emergency service.''.
(2) Technical correction.--Effective as if included in the
enactment of the Children's Health Act of 2000 (Public Law
106-310), the amendment instruction in section 1603 of such
Act is amended by striking ``Part B of the Public Health
Service Act'' and inserting ``Part B of title III of the
Public Health Service Act''.
(d) Development of Resources for Educating Mental Health
Professionals About Treating Fire Fighters and Emergency
Medical Services Personnel.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator, in consultation with
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall develop and
make publicly available resources that may be used by the
Federal Government and other entities to educate mental
health professionals about--
(A) the culture of Federal, State, Tribal, and local
career, volunteer, and combination fire departments and
emergency medical services agencies;
(B) the different stressors experienced by firefighters and
emergency medical services personnel, supervisory
firefighters and emergency medical services personnel, and
chief officers of fire departments and emergency medical
services agencies;
(C) challenges encountered by retired firefighters and
emergency medical services personnel; and
(D) evidence-based therapies for mental health issues
common to firefighters and emergency medical services
personnel within such departments and agencies.
(2) Consultation.--In developing resources under paragraph
(1), the Administrator, in coordination with the Secretary of
Health and Human Services, shall consult with national fire
and emergency medical services organizations.
(3) Definitions.--In this subsection:
(A) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the United States Fire Administration.
(B) Chief officer.--The term ``chief officer'' means any
individual who is responsible for the overall operation of a
fire department or an emergency medical services agency,
irrespective of whether such individual also serves as a
firefighter or emergency medical services personnel.
(C) Emergency medical services personnel.--The term
``emergency medical services personnel'' means an employee
who is a member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew (as
defined in section 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284)),
regardless of rank or whether the employee receives
compensation.
(D) Firefighter.--The term ``firefighter'' means any
employee, regardless of rank or whether the employee receives
compensation, of a Federal, State, Tribal, or local fire
department who is responsible for responding to calls for
emergency service.
(e) Best Practices and Other Resources for Addressing
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Public Safety Officers.--
(1) Development; updates.--The Secretary of Health and
Human Services shall--
(A) develop and assemble evidence-based best practices and
other resources to identify, prevent, and treat posttraumatic
stress disorder and co-occurring disorders in public safety
officers; and
(B) reassess and update, as the Secretary determines
necessary, such best practices and resources, including based
upon the options for interventions to reduce suicide among
public safety officers identified in the annual reports
required by section 317W(d)(1)(F) of the Public Health
Service Act, as added by subsection (b).
(2) Consultation.--In developing, assembling, and updating
the best practices and resources under paragraph (1), the
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall consult with, at
a minimum, the following:
(A) Public health experts.
(B) Mental health experts with experience in studying
suicide and other profession-related traumatic stress.
(C) Clinicians with experience in diagnosing and treating
mental health issues.
(D) Relevant national police, fire, and emergency medical
services organizations.
(3) Availability.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall make the best practices and resources under
paragraph (1) available to Federal, State, and local fire,
law enforcement, and emergency medical services agencies.
(4) Federal training and development programs.--The
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall work with
Federal departments and agencies, including the United States
Fire Administration, to incorporate education and training on
the best practices and resources under paragraph (1) into
Federal training and development programs for public safety
officers.
(5) Definition.--In this section, the term ``public safety
officer'' means--
(A) a public safety officer, as defined in section 1204 of
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34
U.S.C. 10284); or
(B) a public safety telecommunicator, as described in
detailed occupation 43-5031 in the Standard Occupational
Classification Manual of the Office of Management and Budget
(2018).
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