,i  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #fidj  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,january #f1         
#bjbf,mrs4 ,biggs of ,south ,carolina   
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on ,energy  
and ,commerce  ,a ,,bill  ,to direct the
 ,secretary of ,health and ,human       
,services to assess how ,executive      
departments address mental health crisis
 prevention and awareness1 and for other
 purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act 
may be cited as the ,hope ,heals ,act of
 #bjbf4  #b4 ,mental health crisis      
prevention and awareness  7a7           
,assessment  7#a7 ,in general ,not later
 than #ahj days after the date of       
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
of ,health and ,human ,services 7in this
 section referred to as the ,secretary7 
shall assess--  7,a7 the feasibility of 
improving coordination between          
,executive departments that provide     
direct services to the public1 with     
respect to identifying-- 7i7 any        

individual experiencing a mental health 
crisis2 or  7ii7 any individual that    
expresses concern that they may be      
experiencing such a crisis or related   
distress2  7,b7 any opportunity for an  
,executive department to improve how    
such department shares information1 best
 practices1 and referral mechanisms     
related to suicide prevention and mental
 health support with an individual      
seeking services during a mental health 
crisis2 and  7,c7 for the purpose of    
increasing awareness of the signs of a  
mental health crisis1 whether an        
,executive department may implement a   
program to distribute-- 7i7 a validated 
screening tool1 including the ,patient  
,health ,questionnaire-#c 7,,phq-#c7 or 
a comparable tool2 and  7ii7 any        
commonly used symptom indicator4  7#b7  
,coordination with other ,executive     
departments ,in carrying out the        
assessment under paragraph 7#a71 the    
,secretary shall coordinate with the    
head of any relevant ,executive         

department1 which may include--  7,a7   
the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs2   
7,b7 the ,secretary of ,defense2 and    
7,c7 the ,secretary of ,education4  7#c7
 ,consultation with experts ,in carrying
 out the assessment under paragraph     
7#a71 the ,secretary may consult with-- 
7,a7 an independent person with         
expertise in suicide prevention1 public 
mental health1 behavioral health        
systems1 or coordination between        
,executive departments2  7,b7 an        
academic institution with demonstrated  
expertise in mental or behavioral health
 research1 suicide prevention1 or public
 health2  7,c7 a mental health          
professional2 or  7,d7 any such other   
entity with relevant expertise4  7#d7   
,report  7,a7 ,in general ,not later    
than #ahj days after the date on which  
the ,secretary completes the assessment 
under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary    
shall submit to each appropriate        
congressional committee a report        
containing the results of such          

assessment and any recommendations      
related to such results4  7,b7          
,appropriate congressional committee    
defined ,in this paragraph1 the term    
appropriate congressional committee     
means--  7i7 the ,committee on ,energy  
and ,commerce of the ,house of          
,representatives2  7ii7 the ,committee  
on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and     
,pensions of the ,senate2 and  7iii7 any
 congressional committee with           
jurisdiction over the head of an        
,executive department that the          
,secretary coordinates with under       
paragraph 7#b74  7b7 ,implementation    
,each ,executive department shall1 to   
the extent practicable1 implement any   
recommendation contained within the     
report submitted under subsection       
7a77#d74  7c7 ,definitions ,in this     
section3 7#a7 ,executive department ,the
 term ,executive department means an    
,executive department listed in section 
#aja of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4
  7#b7 ,mental health crisis ,the term  

mental health crisis means a situation  
in which an individual-- 7,a7           
experiences acute psychological distress
 or behavioral disruption that--  7i7   
places such individual at risk of       
harming themself or another individual2 
or  7ii7 significantly impairs the      
ability of such individual to function  
in daily life2 and  7,b7 requires       
support1 intervention1 or referral to   
services4