Sponsors (3)
The bill strengthens evidence-based peer support and program standards to improve first responders' behavioral health and access to care, while creating unspecified federal spending and raising privacy and long-term oversight concerns.
First responders (law enforcement, firefighters, EMS) will receive improved, evidence-based peer support models tailored to occupational needs, which can reduce suicide risk and untreated behavioral health conditions.
Agencies and jurisdictions will have a publicly available report and minimum standards to implement consistent training and confidentiality protections, improving program quality and consistency across local and state governments.
First responders could gain greater access to licensed clinicians and coordinated services through identified integration points and potential federal grant guidance, increasing connection to professional care for behavioral health needs.
Taxpayers may face increased federal spending because the bill authorizes unspecified funding ('such sums as may be necessary') for HHS activities without a defined budget limit.
Responder privacy and confidentiality could be at risk because interagency reviews involving law enforcement and justice officials may create concerns about how sensitive behavioral health information is handled.
Longer-term oversight and implementation may be limited because the working group sunsets after one year and there is only a one-year timeline, risking that recommendations go unmonitored unless reconvened by the Secretary.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates an HHS-led interagency working group to review peer-support practices for first responders and deliver recommendations to Congress within one year.
Official title: To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, to establish an interagency working group on peer-to-peer behavioral health programs for law enforcement officers and first responders, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 23, 2026 by Suhas Subramanyam · Last progress April 23, 2026
Creates an interagency working group, led by HHS (Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use), to review best practices for peer-to-peer behavioral health programs for law enforcement officers and first responders and to issue recommendations to Congress within one year. The group must evaluate program models, confidentiality, peer-supporter training standards, integration with licensed clinicians, include federal and nonfederal representatives, publish a public report, and may be reconvened; funding is authorized as needed.