I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7723 

To establish the position of Interagency Coordinator for Behavioral Health 

to coordinate the programs and activities of the Federal Government 

relating to mental health, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 22, 2020 

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. TONKO, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, and 

Mr. TRONE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To establish the position of Interagency Coordinator for Behavioral Health to coordinate the programs and activities 

of the Federal Government relating to mental health, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Behavioral Health Co5 ordination and Communication Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY COORDINATOR FOR BEHAVIORAL 

7 HEALTH. 

8 (a) POSITION.— 


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1 (1) APPOINTMENT.—There is within the Execu2 tive Office of the President an Interagency Coordi3 nator for Behavioral Health (in this Act referred to 

4 as the ‘‘Interagency Coordinator’’) who shall— 

5 (A) be appointed by the President, by and 

6 with the advice and consent of the Senate; and 

7 (B) report directly to the President. 

8 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Interagency Coordi9 nator shall— 

10 (A) have expertise in mental health and 

11 substance use disorders; and 

12 (B) have administrative experience. 

13 (3) TERM.—The Interagency Coordinator shall 

14 be appointed for a term of 5 years. The same indi15 vidual may be reappointed to serve as the Inter16 agency Coordinator for subsequent 5-years terms. 

17 (4) RATE OF PAY.—To the extent or in the 

18 amounts provided in advance in appropriation Acts, 

19 the Interagency Coordinator shall be paid at a rate 

20 equal to the rate of basic pay for level 1 of the Exec21 utive Schedule. 

22 (b) PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITY.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Interagency Coordi24 nator shall coordinate the programs and activities of 


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1 the Federal Government relating to mental health 

2 and substance use disorders. 

3 (2) CONSULTATION.— 

4 (A) REQUIRED CONSULTATION.—In car5 rying out paragraph (1) with respect to any 

6 program or activity, the Interagency Coordi7 nator shall consult with— 

8 (i) the Assistant Secretary of Defense 

9 for Health Affairs; 

10 (ii) the Attorney General of the 

11 United States, the Administrator of the 

12 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

13 Prevention, and the Director of the Bureau 

14 of Prisons; 

15 (iii) the Director of National Drug 

16 Control Policy; 

17 (iv) the Secretary of Education, in18 cluding the Assistant Secretary for Special 

19 Education and Rehabilitative Services; 

20 (v) the Secretary of Health and 

21 Human Services, the Assistant Secretary 

22 for Health, the Assistant Secretary for the 

23 Administration for Children and Families, 

24 the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health 


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1 and Substance Use, and the Director of 

2 the Indian Health Service; 

3 (vi) the Secretary of Homeland Secu4 rity; 

5 (vii) the Secretary of Housing and 

6 Urban Development; 

7 (viii) the Secretary of Labor; 

8 (ix) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; 

9 and 

10 (x) the Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

11 Minority Health. 

12 (B) ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION.—In car13 rying out paragraph (1) with respect to any 

14 program or activity, the Interagency Coordi15 nator may consult with the Director of the Cen16 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, the 

17 Commissioner of Food and Drugs, the Director 

18 of the National Institutes of Health, the Ad19 ministrator of the Centers for Medicare & Med20 icaid Services, and such additional Federal offi21 cials as the Interagency Coordinator determines 

22 appropriate. 

23 (c) OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

24 (1) FRAMEWORK FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND

25 SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS.—The Interagency CoVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7723.IH H7723

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1 ordinator shall work with Federal departments and 

2 agencies to create a framework within and across 

3 such departments and agencies for mental health 

4 and substance use disorders. Such framework shall 

5 include the following: 

6 (A) Care coordination to better integrate 

7 mental health and substance use disorder care 

8 into health care settings and ensure seamless 

9 transitions for patients, including by— 

10 (i) promoting mental health and sub11 stance use disorder care earlier in the 

12 health care continuum; 

13 (ii) focusing on providing mental 

14 health and substance use disorder care in 

15 more appropriate settings and locations; 

16 (iii) promoting diversion to mental 

17 health and substance use disorder treat18 ment programs instead of incarceration for 

19 mental health conditions and substance use 

20 disorders; 

21 (iv) improving access to primary care 

22 and other medical services in community 

23 mental health and substance use disorder 

24 settings; 


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1 (v) promoting better treatment and 

2 services for mental health conditions and 

3 substance use disorders while incarcerated; 

4 and 

5 (vi) providing better coordination for 

6 wraparound services at every point in 

7 health care and the justice system for indi8 viduals with mental health conditions and 

9 substance use disorders, including social 

10 supports, housing, education, and employ11 ment. 

12 (B) A focus on adults, children, youth, and 

13 adolescents. 

14 (C) Creating and implementing a transi15 tion plan for patients with mental health condi16 tions or substance use disorders who change 

17 systems, departments, agencies, or services. 

18 (2) INVENTORY.—The Interagency Coordinator 

19 shall— 

20 (A) take an inventory of all positions, com21 mittees, task forces, grants, and funding 

22 streams in the Federal Government that are re23 lated to mental health and substance use dis24 orders; and 


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1 (B) provide suggestions to the President, 

2 the Congress, and relevant Federal departments 

3 and agencies on removing, restructuring, and 

4 reorganizing such positions, committees, task 

5 forces, grants, and funding streams. 

6 (3) KNOWLEDGE CENTER.—The Interagency 

7 Coordinator shall establish and maintain a knowl8 edge center to provide to the public, including by 

9 means of a website, reliable information on mental 

10 health and substance use disorders, including insur11 ance information and navigation tools for the ap12 peals process for insurance denials. 

13 (4) BEST PRACTICES.—The Interagency Coor14 dinator shall identify best practices for— 

15 (A) culturally congruent and linguistically 

16 appropriate mental health and substance use 

17 disorder care; 

18 (B) comprehensive mental health and sub19 stance use disorder care; 

20 (C) continuity of mental health and sub21 stance use disorder care; 

22 (D) destigmatization of mental health con23 ditions and substance use disorders; and 


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1 (E) education campaigns on mental health 

2 and substance use disorders in a variety of set3 tings that include— 

4 (i) the full spectrum of education lev5 els, ranging from prekindergarten through 

6 higher education; 

7 (ii) a range of patient populations, in8 cluding pediatric, adult, geriatric, veteran, 

9 racial and ethnic minority populations, as 

10 well as patient populations in the justice 

11 system; 

12 (iii) a range of health care provider 

13 populations; and 

14 (iv) a range of providers in the justice 

15 system. 

16 (5) GUIDANCE ON MENTAL HEALTH AND SUB17 STANCE USE DISORDER TELEHEALTH TREATMENT

18 ACROSS STATE LINES.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inter20 agency Coordinator shall issue guidance on collabo21 ration among States to enable mental health and 

22 substance use disorder care professionals to treat 

23 patients across State lines through telehealth tech24 nologies. 


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1 (6) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

3 thereafter, the Interagency Coordinator shall submit 

4 a public report to the Congress and the President 

5 that includes— 

6 (A) a description of the activities of the 

7 Interagency Coordinator over the reporting pe8 riod; 

9 (B) the strategic goals of the Interagency 

10 Coordinator over the next 5- and 10-year peri11 ods; and 

12 (C) an inventory of all Federal programs 

13 pertaining to mental health and substance use 

14 disorders. 

15 (7) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Interagency Coor17 dinator shall submit a public report to the Congress 

18 and the President— 

19 (A) describing the racial, ethnic, disability, 

20 sex, and gender disparities within the mental 

21 health and substance use disorder workforce, 

22 describing how such disparities impact access to 

23 care, particularly for minority populations, and 

24 recommending how to address such disparities; 


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1 (B) projecting the diversity of mental 

2 health and substance use disorder care profes3 sional in terms of race, ethnicity, sex, and gen4 der in 5 and 10 years; 

5 (C) describing the racial, ethnic, disability, 

6 sex, and gender disparities in education and 

7 training for the mental health and substance 

8 use disorder care professionals, and recom9 mending how to address such disparities; 

10 (D) describing geographic racial, ethnic, 

11 disability, sex, and gender disparities of the 

12 mental health and substance use disorder work13 force, and recommending how to address such 

14 disparities; 

15 (E) recommending ways to include non16 subjective mental health and substance use dis17 order screenings as a vital sign; 

18 (F) recommending ways to create a com19 plexity index for mental health and substance 

20 use disorders; and 

21 (G) assessing access to community-based 

22 mental health and substance use disorder serv23 ices in underserved geographic areas and com24 munities of color. 

25 (d) TEAM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Interagency Coordi2 nator may appoint such personnel (in this Act re3 ferred to as the ‘‘team’’) as the Interagency Coordi4 nator considers appropriate. 

5 (2) COMPOSITION.—The Interagency Coordi6 nator shall ensure that the team, collectively, has the 

7 following experience: 

8 (A) Working in an adult mental health set9 ting. 

10 (B) Working in a geriatric mental health 

11 setting. 

12 (C) Working in a child mental health set13 ting. 

14 (D) Working in an adult substance use dis15 order setting. 

16 (E) Working in a child substance use dis17 order setting. 

18 (F) Working in the adult justice system 

19 with a focus on mental health and substance 

20 use disorders. 

21 (G) Working in the juvenile justice system 

22 with a focus on mental health and substance 

23 use disorders. 


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1 (H) Working in a school or college cam2 pus-based setting with a focus on mental health 

3 and substance use disorders. 

4 (I) Working in a health care facility of the 

5 Department of Veterans Affairs with a focus on 

6 mental health and substance use disorders. 

7 (J) Working in a foster care setting. 

8 (K) Working in an integrated care setting. 

9 (L) Receiving mental health and substance 

10 use disorder care as an adult. 

11 (M) Receiving mental health and substance 

12 use disorder care as a child. 

13 (N) Having been incarcerated in the adult 

14 justice system while suffering from a mental ill15 ness or substance use disorder. 

16 (O) Having been detained in the juvenile 

17 justice system while suffering from a mental ill18 ness or substance use disorder. 

19 (P) Having been placed in a foster care 

20 setting. 

21 (Q) Experience providing mental health or 

22 substance use disorder care in minority and un23 derserved communities. 


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1 (3) DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 

2 Interagency Coordinator shall delegate to the team 

3 responsibilities including— 

4 (A) using the framework created under 

5 subsection (c)(1); 

6 (B) helping to identify Federal, State, 

7 Tribal, and local partnerships between the pub8 lic and private sectors for improving mental 

9 health and substance use disorders; and 

10 (C) help with implementation of this Act. 

11 (4) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

12 LAWS.—The team may be appointed without regard 

13 to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov14 erning appointments in the competitive service, and 

15 may be paid without regard to the provisions of 

16 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that 

17 title relating to classification and General Schedule 

18 pay rates, except that an individual so appointed 

19 may not receive pay in excess of the annual rate of 

20 basic pay for GS–15 of the General Schedule. 

21 (5) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Inter22 agency Coordinator may procure temporary and 

23 intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 

24 5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals 


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1 not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate 

2 of basic pay for GS–15 of the General Schedule. 

3 (6) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon re4 quest of the Interagency Coordinator, the head of 

5 any Federal department or agency may detail, on a 

6 reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of that de7 partment or agency to the Interagency Coordinator 

8 to assist it in carrying out the responsibilities under 

9 this Act. 

10 (e) POWERS.— 

11 (1) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Inter12 agency Coordinator may, for the purpose of carrying 

13 out this Act, hold hearings, sit and act at times and 

14 places, take testimony, and receive evidence as the 

15 Interagency Coordinator considers appropriate. 

16 (2) POWERS OF TEAM AND AGENTS.—Any 

17 member of the team or agent of the Interagency Co18 ordinator may, if authorized by the Interagency Co19 ordinator, take any action which the Commission is 

20 authorized to take by this section. 

21 (3) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Inter22 agency Coordinator may secure directly from any de23 partment or agency of the United States information 

24 necessary to enable the Interagency Coordinator to 

25 carry out this Act. Upon request of the Interagency 


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1 Coordinator, the head of that department or agency 

2 shall, within 30 days of receiving the request, fur3 nish that information to the Interagency Coordi4 nator. 

5 (4) MAILS.—The Interagency Coordinator may 

6 use the United States mails in the same manner and 

7 under the same conditions as other departments and 

8 agencies of the United States. 

9 (5) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.— 

10 Upon the request of the Interagency Coordinator, 

11 the Administrator of General Services shall provide 

12 to the Interagency Coordinator, on a reimbursable 

13 basis, the administrative support services necessary 

14 for the Interagency Coordinator to carry out the re15 sponsibilities under this Act. 

16 (6) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—To the extent or 

17 in the amounts provided in advance in appropriation 

18 Acts, the Interagency Coordinator may contract with 

19 and compensate government and private agencies or 

20 persons for supplies and services. 

21 (f) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘cul22 turally congruent’’ means consistent with preferred cul23 tural values, beliefs, worldview, language, and practices. 


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1 SEC. 3. COOPERATION BY OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

2 The head of each Federal department or agency seek3 ing to commence development or implementation of a pol4 icy, including through rulemaking or guidance, that is di5 rectly related to mental health or substance use disorder 

6 care shall— 

7 (1) give notice of the policy to the Interagency 

8 Coordinator; 

9 (2) in accordance with section 2(e)(3), share 

10 such information relating to the policy as the Inter11 agency Coordinator may request; and 

12 (3) participate in such discussions and meetings 

13 regarding the policy as the Interagency Coordinator 

14 may request for purposes of coordination pursuant 

15 to section 2(b). 

16 SEC. 4. STUDY ON REIMBURSEMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH 

17 AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER SERVICES 

18 FOR JUVENILES. 

19 (a) REIMBURSEMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AND

20 SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER SERVICES PROVIDED IN

21 PRESCHOOL, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AND SECONDARY

22 SCHOOL SETTINGS.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

23 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

24 United States shall— 

25 (1) complete a study on the reimbursement of 

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1 fessionals for services provided in preschool, elemen2 tary school, and secondary school settings; and 

3 (2) submit a public report to the Congress and 

4 the President on the findings, conclusions, and rec5 ommendations resulting from such study. 

6 (b) SERVICES AVAILABLE TO JUSTICE INVOLVED JU7 VENILES.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enact8 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

9 States shall— 

10 (1) complete a study to determine the percent11 age of the budget of the Federal Government and 

12 each State government, disaggregated by agency, 

13 used to support mental health and substance use 

14 disorder services for juveniles who are arrested or 

15 become part of the juvenile or criminal justice sys16 tems; and 

17 (2) submit a public report to the Congress and 

18 the President on the findings, conclusions, and rec19 ommendations resulting from such study, including 

20 recommendations on— 

21 (A) whether the amount expended by each 

22 Federal and State agency on mental health and 

23 substance use disorder services for such juve24 niles needs to be adjusted; and 


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1 (B) any gaps in community-based services 

2 for juveniles with mental health conditions or 

3 substance use disorders that should be available 

4 to prevent such juveniles from becoming part of 

5 the juvenile or criminal justice systems. 

6 SEC. 5. REPORT ON INTERAGENCY COORDINATOR’S IN7 VOLVEMENT AT THE FEDERAL AND STATE 

8 LEVELS IN PROGRAMS, DECISIONS, AND 

9 CHANGES RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH 

10 AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS. 

11 Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 

12 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall— 

13 (1) submit a report to the Congress and the 

14 President on the involvement of the Interagency Co15 ordinator and the Interagency Coordinator’s team at 

16 the Federal and State levels in programs, decisions, 

17 and changes relating to mental and behavioral 

18 health; 

19 (2) disaggregate the information in such report 

20 by year; and 

21 (3) include in such report recommendations 

22 on— 

23 (A) ways to improve such involvement of 

24 the Interagency Coordinator and the Inter25 agency Coordinator’s team; and 


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1 (B) addressing any identified gaps in such 

2 involvement. 

Æ 


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