[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 196 (Thursday, October 8, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 63977-63979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-22510]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 196 / Thursday, October 8, 2020 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 63977]]


                Executive Order 13954 of October 3, 2020

                
Saving Lives Through Increased Support for 
                Mental- and Behavioral-Health Needs

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Purpose. My Administration is committed to 
                preventing the tragedy of suicide, ending the opioid 
                crisis, and improving mental and behavioral health. 
                Before the COVID-19 pandemic, these urgent issues were 
                prioritized through significant initiatives, including 
                the President's Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a 
                National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS), expanded access 
                to medication-assisted treatment and life-saving 
                naloxone, and budget requests for significant 
                investments in the funding of evidence-based treatment 
                for mental- and behavioral-health needs.

                During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government 
                has dedicated billions of dollars and thousands of 
                hours in resources to help Americans, including 
                approximately $425 million in emergency funds to 
                address mental and substance use disorders through the 
                Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
                Administration. The pandemic has also exacerbated 
                mental- and behavioral-health conditions as a result of 
                stress from prolonged lockdown orders, lost employment, 
                and social isolation. Survey data from the Centers for 
                Disease Control and Prevention show that during the 
                last week of June, 40.9 percent of Americans struggled 
                with mental-health or substance-abuse issues and 10.7 
                percent reported seriously considering suicide. We must 
                enhance the ability of the Federal Government, as well 
                as its State, local, and Tribal partners, to 
                appropriately address these ongoing mental- and 
                behavioral-health concerns.

                Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States 
                to prevent suicides, drug-related deaths, and poor 
                behavioral-health outcomes, particularly those that are 
                induced or made worse by prolonged State and local 
                COVID-19 shutdown orders. I am therefore issuing a 
                national call to action to:

                    (a) Engage the resources of the Federal Government 
                to address the mental- and behavioral-health needs of 
                vulnerable Americans, including by:

(i) providing crisis-intervention services to treat those in immediate 
life-threatening situations; and

(ii) increasing the availability of and access to quality continuing care 
following initial crisis resolution to improve behavioral-health outcomes;

                    (b) Permit and encourage safe in-person mentorship 
                programs; support-group participation; and attendance 
                at communal facilities, including schools, civic 
                centers, and houses of worship;
                    (c) Increase the availability of telehealth and 
                online mental-health and substance-use tools and 
                services; and
                    (d) Marshal public and private resources to address 
                deteriorating mental health, such as factors that 
                contribute to prolonged unemployment and social 
                isolation.

                Sec. 3. Establishment of a Coronavirus Mental Health 
                Working Group. The Coronavirus Mental Health Working 
                Group (Working Group) is hereby established to 
                facilitate an ``all-of-government'' response to the 
                mental-health conditions induced or exacerbated by the 
                pandemic, including issues related to suicide 
                prevention. The Working Group will be co-chaired by the 
                Secretary of Health and Human Services, or his 
                designee, and the Assistant to the

[[Page 63978]]

                President for Domestic Policy, or her designee. The 
                Working Group shall be composed of representatives from 
                the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, 
                the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Labor, 
                the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the 
                Department of Education, the Department of Veterans 
                Affairs, the Small Business Administration, the Office 
                of National Drug Control Policy, the Office of 
                Management and Budget (OMB), and such representatives 
                of other executive departments, agencies, and offices 
                as the Co-Chairs may, from time to time, designate with 
                the concurrence of the head of the department, agency, 
                or office concerned. All members of the Working Group 
                shall be full-time, or permanent part-time, officers or 
                employees of the Federal Government.

                Sec. 4. Responsibilities of the Coronavirus Mental 
                Health Working Group. (a) As part of the Working 
                Group's efforts, it shall consider the mental- and 
                behavioral-health conditions of those vulnerable 
                populations affected by the pandemic, including: 
                minorities, seniors, veterans, small business owners, 
                children, and individuals potentially affected by 
                domestic violence or physical abuse; those living with 
                disabilities; and those with a substance use disorder. 
                The Working Group shall examine existing protocols and 
                evidence-based programs that may serve as models to 
                better support these at-risk groups, including 
                implementation and broader application of the PREVENTS, 
                and the Department of Labor's Employer Assistance and 
                Resource Network on Disability Inclusion's Mental 
                Health Toolkit and Centralized Accommodation Programs.

                    (b) Within 45 days of the date of this order, the 
                Working Group shall develop and submit to the President 
                a report that outlines a plan for improved service 
                coordination between all relevant public and private 
                stakeholders and executive departments and agencies 
                (agencies) to assist individuals in crisis so that they 
                receive effective treatment and recovery services.

                Sec. 5. Grant Funding for States and Organizations that 
                Permit In-Person Treatment and Recovery Support 
                Activities for Mental and Behavioral Health. The heads 
                of agencies, in consultation with the Director of OMB, 
                shall:

                    (a) Examine their existing grant programs that fund 
                mental-health, medical, or related services and, 
                consistent with applicable law, take steps to encourage 
                grantees to consider adopting policies, where 
                appropriate, that have been shown to improve mental 
                health and reduce suicide risk, including the 
                following:

(i) Safe in-person and telehealth participation in support groups for 
people in recovery from substance use disorders, mental-health issues, or 
other ailments that benefit from communal support; and peer-to-peer 
services that support underserved communities;

(ii) Safe face-to-face therapeutic services, including group therapy, to 
remediate poor behavioral health; and

(iii) Safe participation in communal support--both faith-based and 
secular--including educational programs, civic activities, and in-person 
religious services.

                    (b) Maximize use of existing agency authorities to 
                award contracts or grants to community organizations or 
                other local entities to enhance mental-health and 
                suicide-prevention services, such as outreach, 
                education, and case management, to vulnerable 
                Americans.

                Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

[[Page 63979]]

                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    October 3, 2020.

[FR Doc. 2020-22510
Filed 10-7-20; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P