I 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6940 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to assess how Execu-
tive departments address mental health crisis prevention and awareness, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 6, 2026 
Mrs. BIGGS of South Carolina introduced the following bill; 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 awareness, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hope Heals Act of 
2026’’. 
SEC. 2. MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS PREVENTION AND AWARE-
NESS. 
(a) ASSESSMENT.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services (in this sec-
tion referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall assess— 
(A) the feasibility of improving coordina-
tion between Executive departments that pro-
vide direct services to the public, with respect to 
identifying— 
(i) any individual experiencing a men-
tal health crisis; or 
(ii) any individual that expresses con-
cern that they may be experiencing such a 
crisis or related distress; 
(B) any opportunity for an Executive de-
partment to improve how such department 
shares information, best practices, and referral 
mechanisms related to suicide prevention and 
mental health support with an individual seek-
ing services during a mental health crisis; and 
(C) for the purpose of increasing aware-
ness of the signs of a mental health crisis, 
whether an Executive department may imple-
ment a program to distribute— 
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(i) a validated screening tool, includ-
ing the Patient Health Questionnaire-3 
(PHQ–3) or a comparable tool; and 
(ii) any commonly used symptom indi-
cator. 
(2) COORDINATION
WITH
OTHER
EXECUTIVE 
DEPARTMENTS.—In carrying out the assessment 
under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall coordinate 
with the head of any relevant Executive department, 
which may include— 
(A) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; 
(B) the Secretary of Defense; and 
(C) the Secretary of Education. 
(3) CONSULTATION
WITH
EXPERTS.—In car-
rying out the assessment under paragraph (1), the 
Secretary may consult with— 
(A) an independent person with expertise 
in suicide prevention, public mental health, be-
havioral health systems, or coordination be-
tween Executive departments; 
(B) an academic institution with dem-
onstrated expertise in mental or behavioral 
health research, suicide prevention, or public 
health; 
(C) a mental health professional; or 
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(D) any such other entity with relevant ex-
pertise. 
(4) REPORT.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 
days after the date on which the Secretary com-
pletes the assessment under paragraph (1), the 
Secretary shall submit to each appropriate con-
gressional committee a report containing the re-
sults of such assessment and any recommenda-
tions related to such results. 
(B) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COM-
MITTEE DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term 
‘‘appropriate 
congressional 
committee’’ 
means— 
(i) the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce of the House of Representa-
tives; 
(ii) the Committee on Health, Edu-
cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 
and 
(iii) any congressional committee with 
jurisdiction over the head of an Executive 
department that the Secretary coordinates 
with under paragraph (2). 
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(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Each Executive department 
shall, to the extent practicable, implement any rec-
ommendation contained within the report submitted under 
subsection (a)(4). 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Ex-
ecutive department’’ means an Executive department 
listed in section 101 of title 5, United States Code. 
(2) MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.—The term ‘‘men-
tal health crisis’’ means a situation in which an indi-
vidual— 
(A) experiences acute psychological distress 
or behavioral disruption that— 
(i) places such individual at risk of 
harming themself or another individual; or 
(ii) significantly impairs the ability of 
such individual to function in daily life; 
and 
(B) requires support, intervention, or re-
ferral to services. 
Æ 
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