Sponsors (37)
Introduced March 6, 2025 by Ami Bera · Last progress March 6, 2025
The bill expands federal data collection, training, and grant support to improve mental‑health care and suicide prevention for public safety and healthcare workers, trading modest but real increases in federal spending and privacy/local‑control concerns for better-targeted services and potentially lifesaving supports.
Fire, EMS, and healthcare workers (and the departments that employ them) will receive federal grant support to stand up peer‑support and staff behavioral health programs, reducing burnout, turnover, and local budget burdens.
Public safety suicide data will be collected and reported federally (initial + biannual reports), improving count accuracy and transparency so employers and policymakers can target prevention and intervention efforts.
Standardized, evidence‑based training and publicly available clinical resources for PTSD and responder‑specific stressors will improve the quality and consistency of care for first responders (including retired personnel) across jurisdictions, improving early detection and treatment.
The bill creates recurring federal costs (to develop/operate the reporting system, fund grants, and produce/update materials), increasing taxpayer spending or requiring HHS/CDC resource reallocation.
Reliance on competitive grants and non‑binding guidance risks uneven access and uptake: small, rural, or under‑resourced departments and providers may not receive funding or adopt practices, leaving coverage gaps.
Collecting disaggregated occupational and status data raises privacy and civil‑liberties concerns for officers (which could reduce reporting completeness and undermine the surveillance purpose).
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Creates a federal suicide-reporting system for public safety officers, funds peer-support programs for fire/EMS and health care providers, and requires PTSD best-practice resources and training.
Creates a federal suicide reporting system for public safety officers and funds peer-support behavioral health programs for firefighters, EMS personnel, and health care providers. Requires HHS and the U.S. Fire Administration to produce and share evidence-based PTSD and behavioral-health resources, train peer counselors, and protect confidentiality so survivor benefits or insurance cannot be denied based on reported data.