PEER Mental Health Act of 2025

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1448 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1448

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of 
 Health and Human Services, acting through the Assistant Secretary for 
Mental Health and Substance Use, to award grants for peer mental health 
                   first aid, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 21, 2025

 Ms. Balint (for herself, Ms. Salinas, and Ms. Norton) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of 
 Health and Human Services, acting through the Assistant Secretary for 
Mental Health and Substance Use, to award grants for peer mental health 
                   first aid, 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 ``Peer Education and Emergency 
Response for Mental Health Act of 2025'' or the ``PEER Mental Health 
Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR PEER MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID.

    Title V of the Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting 
after section 520J of such Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-41) the following:

``SEC. 520J-1. GRANTS FOR PEER MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall award grants to eligible 
entities--
            ``(1) to train teachers, other relevant school personnel 
        (including education support professionals), students, and 
        parents and caregivers of students--
                    ``(A) to recognize symptoms of childhood and 
                adolescent mental health conditions;
                    ``(B) to refer students to appropriate mental 
                health services if necessary; and
                    ``(C) to recognize signs of immediate mental 
                distress and, upon recognizing such signs apply mental 
                health first aid tactics; and
            ``(2) to provide education to such teachers, personnel, 
        students, parents, and caregivers regarding resources that are 
        available in the community for individuals with a mental 
        illness.
    ``(b) Relation to Other Mental Health Awareness Training Grants.--
An eligible entity may receive grant funds under this section in 
addition to receiving amounts made available to such eligible entity 
pursuant to section 520J.
    ``(c) Allocation for Schools in Rural Areas.--
            ``(1) In general.--In awarding grants under this section, 
        the Secretary shall award not less than 25 percent of the 
        amounts made available to carry out this section for a fiscal 
        year to eligible entities that are elementary schools or 
        secondary schools in rural areas or that are applying for 
        grants on behalf of such schools.
            ``(2) Reallocation.--If the Secretary is unable to obligate 
        the total amount of funds set aside under paragraph (1) for a 
        fiscal year due to a lack of qualified applications from 
        eligible applicants described in paragraph (1), the Secretary 
        shall reallocate the remainder of such funds for making grants 
        under this section to other eligible entities.
    ``(d) Application.--
            ``(1) In general.--To seek a grant under this section, an 
        eligible entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at 
        such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
        the Secretary may require, including a plan for the rigorous 
        evaluation of activities that are carried out with funds 
        received through the grant.
            ``(2) Streamlined process.--The Secretary shall streamline 
        the process for applying for a grant under this section so as 
        to keep such process from imposing an unreasonable barrier, 
        especially for eligible entities with limited personnel 
        available to prepare a grant application.
    ``(e) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary shall provide technical 
assistance to eligible entities applying for, or receiving, grants 
under this section. Such technical assistance shall include the 
development and dissemination of best practices for providing training 
and education described in subsection (a).
    ``(f) Definition.--In this section:
            ``(1) The terms `elementary school', `local educational 
        agency', `secondary school', and `State educational agency' 
        have the meanings given to those terms in section 8101 of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
            ``(2) The term `eligible entity' means an elementary 
        school, a local educational agency, a secondary school, or a 
        State educational agency.
            ``(3) The term `rural area' refers to a rural area as 
        defined by the Health Resources and Services Administration for 
        purposes of awarding rural health grants.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $24,963,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2026 through 2030.''.
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