Federal Mental Health Legislation (119th Congress)

Current congressional focus includes:

• Behavioral-health workforce shortages
• Youth mental-health crisis
• Mental-health facility shortages
• Telehealth expansion
• Technology and screen addiction impacts
• Minority mental-health disparities
• Crisis-response systems
• Immigration & Immigrant Mental Health Legislative Focus (Federal)

• Energy & Commerce Committee (https://energycommerce.house.gov)
• Education & Workforce Committee (https://edworkforce.house.gov)

• Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee (https://www.help.senate.gov)

• Introduced: Jan 9, 2026
• Sponsor: Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL)
• Status: Introduced in the House; referred to House Energy & Commerce and House Judiciary
• Purpose: Adjusts federal rules related to telehealth prescribing of controlled substances, including prescribing for mental-health treatment.
• How to give input: Contact form at https://dunn.house.gov/contact/contactform.htm or Phone at (202) 225-5235

• Introduced: Oct 8, 2025
• Sponsor: Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)
• Status: Referred to House Energy & Commerce and Judiciary
• Purpose: Creates DOJ and HHS grant programs supporting community-based mental health crisis response systems, including alternatives to police response.
• Input: Share your opinion at https://watsoncoleman.house.gov/contact/share-your-opinion or Phone at (202) 225-5801

• Introduced: Apr 8, 2025
• Sponsor: Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-OR)
• Status: Referred to Energy & Commerce and Education & Workforce
• Purpose: Expands federal recognition and integration of peer support specialists to address behavioral-health workforce shortages.
• Input: Contact offices at https://salinas.house.gov/contact/offices or Phone at (202) 225-5643

• Introduced: Jun 25, 2025
• Sponsor: Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)
• Status: Referred to Energy & Commerce and Education & Workforce
• Purpose: Develops national strategies supporting teacher and school staff mental health, suicide prevention, and stigma reduction.
• Input: Contact at https://bonamici.house.gov/contact or Phone at (202) 225-0855

• Introduced: May 22, 2025
• Sponsors: Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN)
• Status: Referred to Senate HELP Committee
• Purpose: Creates a federal mental-health grant dashboard to improve transparency and public access to federal funding.
• Input: Contact Fischer at https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-deb and Smith at https://www.smith.senate.gov/contact

• Introduced: Dec 2, 2025
• Sponsor: Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
• Status: Referred to Senate Finance Committee
• Purpose: Allows Medicaid state options to cover uninsured individuals with serious mental illness or substance-use disorders.
• Input: Email at https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/email-me

• Sponsored by Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-OR)
• This bill creates scholarships to expand the behavioral-health workforce serving underserved communities.
• Give input at https://salinas.house.gov/contact

• Sponsored by Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-OR) with bipartisan co-sponsors
• This expands federal grants supporting school-based mental-health programs.
• Provide committee input at https://energycommerce.house.gov

• Sponsored by Andrea Salinas (D-OR)
• This creates federal outreach and culturally competent programs addressing Latino youth mental-health disparities, including awareness campaigns and community engagement initiatives.
• Official Link: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6226

• Sponsored by Rich McCormick (R-GA)
• This directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to study how screen use, digital media, and technology addiction affect men’s mental health, including depression, social isolation, and suicide risk.
• Official Link: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6680

• Sponsored by Rich McCormick (R-GA)
• This requires federal research on screen addiction and its mental-health impacts on youth, including anxiety, attention disorders, and social development concerns.
• Official Link: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6679

• Sponsored by Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MI)
• This creates federal loan programs to expand psychiatric hospital beds, behavioral health crisis facilities, and community treatment infrastructure.
• Official Link: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1673

Immigration-related mental-health issues commonly addressed in federal policy include:

• Trauma from migration journeys
• Family separation stress
• Detention-related psychological harm
• Barriers to culturally competent care
• Fear of deportation preventing healthcare access

Major federal agencies addressing this issue include:

• HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement
• SAMHSA immigrant trauma programs
• Community Health Centers serving migrant populations

• Minority Mental Health Awareness Resolution: Sponsored by Grace Napolitano (D-CA). This recognizes Minority Mental Health Awareness Month and highlights disparities in access to care, cultural competency, and community resources.
  Official Link: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-resolution/619.

• Protecting Sensitive Locations Act: Sponsored by Adriano Espaillat (D-NY). This prohibits immigration enforcement actions at sensitive locations such as schools, hospitals, places of worship, and courthouses. This policy is intended to reduce fear that prevents immigrant families from seeking medical and mental-health care.
  Official Link: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/1061.

• Mental Health for Immigrant Children Act: Sponsored by Grace Napolitano (D-CA). This expands mental-health services for immigrant children, especially those affected by trauma during migration, detention experiences, and family separation. The bill directs federal agencies to support trauma-informed care programs for migrant youth.
  Official Link: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/3183.
• U.S. Citizenship Act: Sponsored by Linda Sánchez (D-CA) and introduced on behalf of the
  Administration. This is comprehensive immigration reform that includes provisions addressing trauma among migrant children, humanitarian protections, and community integration services. Mental-health services are included as part of support for refugees
  and asylum seekers.
  Official Link: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/housebill/1177.
• Access to Counsel Act: Sponsored by Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). This ensures immigrants detained at U.S. ports of entry can consult with legal counsel. Research cited in hearings indicates that legal access reduces psychological trauma, anxiety, and fear associated with immigration detention.
  Official Link: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118thcongress/house-bill/1573.

• Category: County Initiative
• Leadership: LA County Board of Supervisors
• Key Agencies:
  • Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health
  • Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
  • Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)
• Purpose: Address homelessness through integrated mental health, housing, and social services.
• Official information: https://homeless.lacounty.gov

• Category: County Initiative
• Leadership:
  • Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health
  • Los Angeles County Office of Education
• Purpose: Expand access to mental health services for children and adolescents.
• Programs include:
  • School-based counseling
  • Trauma-informed services
  • Early intervention programs
• Official information: https://dmh.lacounty.gov/kids/

Cities across the SGV—including El Monte, Baldwin Park, West Covina, Pomona, and Azusa have seen increased demand for outreach services addressing individuals experiencing homelessness and serious mental illness.

• Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority: https://www.lahsa.org
• Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative: https://homeless.lacounty.gov

Cities across the SGV—including El Monte, Baldwin Park, West Covina, Pomona, and Azusa have seen increased demand for outreach services addressing individuals experiencing homelessness and serious mental illness.

• Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority: https://www.lahsa.org
• Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative: https://homeless.lacounty.gov