119-hr3316

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3316 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3316

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a national 
 outreach and education strategy and research to improve behavioral 
health among the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 
population, while addressing stigma against behavioral health treatment 
 among such population.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 May 9, 2025

 Ms. Chu (for herself, Ms. DelBene, Ms. Meng, Mr. Mullin, Ms. 
Strickland, Mr. Takano, Mr. Thanedar, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Green of 
 Texas, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Tran, and Ms. Barragan) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
 Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a national 
 outreach and education strategy and research to improve behavioral 
health among the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 
population, while addressing stigma against behavioral health treatment 
 among such population.

 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 ``Stop Mental Health Stigma in Our 
Communities Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) AANHPI.--The term ``AANHPI'' means Asian American, 
 Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander.

    (2) Secretary.--Except as otherwise specified, the term 
 ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) The AANHPI community is among the fastest growing 
 population groups in the United States. It is a diverse 
 population representing more than 70 distinct ethnicities, and 
 speaking more than 100 languages and dialects.

    (2) There is a growing mental health crisis in the United 
 States, particularly for AANHPI individuals. AANHPI individuals 
 with mental health challenges have the lowest rates of mental 
 health service utilization compared to other racial or ethnic 
 populations. In 2023, only 35 percent of Asian adults with a 
 mental health challenge received treatment in the past year. 
 Although suicide is the eleventh leading cause of death, it is 
 the leading cause of death for AANHPI youth. From 2018 to 2023, 
 AANHPI youth between the ages of 10 to 24 years were the only 
 racial or ethnic population in this age category where suicide 
 was the leading cause of death.

    (3) Such mental health disparities within the AANHPI 
 community may be attributed to systemic barriers to accessing 
 mental health services, including stigma attached to mental 
 health, limited availability of and access to culturally and 
 linguistically appropriate services, and insufficient research.

    (4) Insufficient research on AANHPI communities often leads 
 to an inaccurate representation of their experiences and needs. 
 It is imperative to disaggregate AANHPI population data to 
 better understand the range of mental health issues for each 
 subpopulation so that specific culturally and linguistically 
 appropriate solutions can be developed.

    (5) Critical investments are necessary to reduce stigma and 
 improve mental health within AANHPI communities, including 
 increasing culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach 
 education and mental health services, improving representation 
 of AANHPI individuals among the behavioral health workforce, 
 and strengthening disaggregated data collection in research.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL AANHPI BEHAVIORAL HEALTH OUTREACH AND EDUCATION 
 STRATEGY.

 Part D of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290dd 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``

SEC. 554. NATIONAL AANHPI BEHAVIORAL HEALTH OUTREACH AND EDUCATION 
 STRATEGY.

 ``

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Assistant 
Secretary, shall, in coordination with the Director of the Office of 
Minority Health, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, and 
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in 
consultation with advocacy and behavioral health organizations serving 
populations of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 
individuals or communities, develop and implement a national outreach 
and education strategy to promote behavioral health and reduce stigma 
associated with mental health and substance use disorders within the 
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander population. Such 
strategy shall--
 ``

    (1) be designed to meet the diverse cultural and language 
 needs and preferences of the various Asian American, Native 
 Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations;
 ``

    (2) be developmentally and age appropriate;
 ``

    (3) increase awareness of symptoms of mental illnesses 
 common within subgroups of such population, taking into account 
 differences within subgroups, such as gender, gender identity, 
 age, sexual orientation, culture, or ethnicity;
 ``

    (4) provide information, in a publicly accessible manner, 
 on evidence-based, culturally and linguistically appropriate, 
 and adapted interventions and treatments;
 ``

    (5) ensure full participation of, and engage, both 
 consumers and community members in the development and 
 implementation of materials; and
 ``

    (6) seek to broaden the perspective among both 
 individuals in Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific 
 Islander communities and stakeholders serving such communities 
 to use a comprehensive public health approach to promoting 
 behavioral health that addresses a holistic view of health by 
 focusing on the intersection between behavioral and physical 
 health.
 ``

    (b) Reports.--Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of 
the enactment of the Stop Mental Health Stigma in Our Communities Act 
of 2025 and annually thereafter, the Secretary, acting through the 
Assistant Secretary, shall submit to Congress, and make publicly 
available, a report on the extent to which the strategy developed and 
implemented under subsection

    (a) increased awareness among the Asian 
American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander population of mental 
health and substance use disorders.
 ``
            (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $3,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2026 through 2030.''.

SEC. 5. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF AND REPORT ON THE AANHPI YOUTH BEHAVIORAL 
 HEALTH CRISIS.

    (a) Systematic Review.--

    (1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the 
 Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, in 
 coordination with the Director of the National Institutes of 
 Health, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
 Prevention, and the Director of the Office of Minority Health, 
 shall conduct a systematic review of behavioral health among 
 AANHPI youth.

    (2) Elements.--Such systematic review required under 
 paragraph

    (1) shall include an assessment of--
        (A) the prevalence, risk factors, and root causes 
 of mental health challenges, substance misuse, and 
 mental health and substance use disorders among AANHPI 
 youth;
        (B) the prevalence and methods of attempted 
 suicide, nonfatal substance use overdose, and death by 
 suicide or substance use overdose among AANHPI youth; 
 and
            (C) AANHPI youth that received treatment for mental 
 health and substance use disorders.

    (b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and make 
publicly available, a report on the findings of the systematic review 
conducted under subsection

    (a) , including--

    (1) identification of the barriers to accessing behavioral 
 health prevention, treatment, and recovery services for AANHPI 
 youth;

    (2) identification of root causes of mental health 
 challenges and substance misuse among AANHPI youth;

    (3) recommendations for evidence-based actions to be taken 
 by the Secretary to improve behavioral health among AANHPI 
 youth;

    (4) recommendations for legislative or administrative 
 action to improve the behavioral health of AANHPI youth 
 experiencing depression, suicide, and overdose, and to reduce 
 the prevalence of depression, suicide, overdose, and other 
 behavioral health conditions among AANHPI youth; and

    (5) such other recommendations as the Secretary determines 
 appropriate.
            (c) Data.--Any data included in the systematic review or report 
under this section shall be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, sex, 
gender identity, sexual orientation, geographic region, disability 
status, and other relevant factors, in a manner that protects personal 
privacy and that is consistent with applicable Federal and State 
privacy law.
            (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--For purposes of carrying out 
this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000 for 
fiscal year 2026.

SEC. 6. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF AND REPORT ON STRATEGIES ON THE AANHPI 
 BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE SHORTAGE.

    (a) Systematic Review.--

    (1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the 
 Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, in 
 coordination with the Administrator of the Health Resources and 
 Services Administration, the Secretary of Labor, and the 
 Director of the Office of Minority Health, shall conduct a 
 systematic review of strategies for increasing the behavioral 
 health workforce that identify as AANHPI.

    (2) Elements.--Such systematic review required under 
 paragraph

    (1) shall include an assessment of--
        (A) the total number of behavioral health workers 
 in the United States who identify as AANHPI;
        (B) with respect to each such worker, information 
 regarding the current type of license, geographic area 
 of practice, and type of employer (such as hospital, 
 Federally-qualified health center, school, or private 
 practice);
            (C) information regarding the cultural and 
 linguistic capabilities of such workers, including 
 languages spoken proficiently;
            (D) the relevant barriers to enrollment in 
 behavioral health professional education programs and 
 entering the behavioral health workforce for AANHPI 
 individuals; and
        (E) the total number of behavioral health workers 
 who identify as AANHPI and who participate in Federal 
 programs that seek to increase, train, and support the 
 behavioral health workforce.

    (b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and make 
publicly available, a report on the findings of the systematic review 
conducted under subsection

    (a) , including--

    (1) identification of AANHPI behavioral health workers' 
 knowledge and awareness of the barriers to quality behavioral 
 health care services faced by AANHPI individuals, including 
 stigma, limited English proficiency, and lack of health 
 insurance coverage;

    (2) recommendations for actions to be taken by the 
 Secretary to increase the number of AANHPI behavioral health 
 workers;

    (3) recommendations for legislative or administrative 
 action to improve the enrollment of AANHPI individuals in 
 behavioral health workforce education and training programs; 
 and

    (4) such other recommendations as the Secretary determines 
 appropriate.
            (c) Data.--Any data included in the systematic review or report 
under this section shall be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, sex, 
gender identity, sexual orientation, geographic region, disability 
status, and other relevant factors, in a manner that protects personal 
privacy and that is consistent with applicable Federal and State 
privacy law.
            (d) === Definition. ===
-In this section the term ``behavioral health 
worker'' means any individual licensed or certified to provide mental 
health or substance use disorder services, including in the professions 
of social work, psychology, psychiatry, marriage and family therapy, 
mental health counseling, peer support, and substance use disorder 
counseling.

    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--For purposes of carrying out 
this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000 for 
fiscal year 2026.
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