I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9109 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide support for bereavement 
services, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 
Mr. MORELLE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide support 
for bereavement services, 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 ‘‘Grief Resilience Invest-
ment and Education Fund Act’’ or the ‘‘GRIEF Act’’. 
SEC. 2. BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT AND RESEARCH. 
Title V of the Public Health Service Act is amended 
by adding at the end the following new part: 
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‘‘PART L—BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT AND 
RESEARCH 
‘‘SEC. 598. NATIONAL PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN ON 
GRIEF LITERACY AND THE IMPORTANCE AND 
AVAILABILITY OF BEREAVEMENT CARE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish, 
and begin coordinating and evaluating, a targeted public 
education campaign that is designed to focus on the indi-
vidual and community-wide consequences of loss when 
grief is unacknowledged and unsupported. Such campaign 
shall be designed to— 
‘‘(1) improve the general understanding of grief 
and loss, including with respect to individuals griev-
ing the loss of a family member or loved one to 
COVID–19; and 
‘‘(2) encourage help-seeking behaviors relating 
to grief and loss, including the availability of re-
sources in communities throughout the United 
States. 
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$50,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022 through 
2023. 
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‘‘SEC. 598A. EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR BEREAVE-
MENT CARE PROVIDERS AND PEER SUPPORT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 
grant program under which the Secretary will award 
grants to eligible entities to provide grief and bereavement 
services and expand access to such services. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity is eligible to re-
ceive a grant under this section if such entity is, or con-
tracts with another entity that is, a nonprofit or for-profit 
organization that has experience administering bereave-
ment care programs or training health care providers, 
such as a hospice, hospital, palliative care provider, or 
other organization, as determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity may use 
funds received through a grant awarded under this sec-
tion— 
‘‘(1) to develop and disseminate resources de-
signed to help social workers, grief counselors, chap-
lains, and other bereavement care providers train 
others in understanding the basics of grief, evidence- 
based interventions, culturally appropriate care, and 
where to locate community grief resources in re-
sponse to the COVID–19 pandemic; 
‘‘(2) to provide training for professionals re-
ferred to in paragraph (1) to expand the care such 
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providers furnish during public health emergencies, 
such as the COVID–19 pandemic; and 
‘‘(3) provide for training for peer-to-peer be-
reavement support. 
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$40,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2023 through 
2027. 
‘‘SEC. 598B. GRIEF AND BEREAVEMENT CARE FOR INDIVID-
UALS AND FAMILIES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 
grant program under which the Secretary will award 
grants to eligible entities to provide grief and bereavement 
care to individuals (including individuals who have not yet 
attained the age of 18) affected by COVID–19 and related 
deaths. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity is eligible to re-
ceive a grant under this section if such entity is a non-
profit or for-profit organization that has experience ad-
ministering bereavement care programs or training health 
care providers with respect to grief, such as a hospice, hos-
pital, palliative care provider, youth-focused nonprofit or-
ganization, a school, or other organization, as determined 
by the Secretary. 
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‘‘(c) SELECTION.—In selecting recipients of grants 
under this section, the Secretary shall consider, with re-
spect to the eligible entity submitting the application for 
such a grant— 
‘‘(1) whether the entity has provided letters of 
support from other community organizations; 
‘‘(2) the length of service of the entity in pro-
viding evidence-based bereavement care in the com-
munity and number of patients served; 
‘‘(3) the existing structure of the entity for pro-
viding care in the community; and 
‘‘(4) the qualifications of the entity’s providers 
working in the community. 
‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity may use 
funds received through a grant awarded under this section 
to— 
‘‘(1) operate grief support groups; 
‘‘(2) provide psychotherapy, health behavior as-
sessment and intervention services, psychological 
testing or diagnostic examination services, and care 
coordination and referral services; 
‘‘(3) purchase, maintain, and operate software 
and hardware needed for operating remote and vir-
tual counseling; and 
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‘‘(4) develop and provide community-based be-
reavement and grief services, including individual 
counseling. 
‘‘(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall, 
not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of 
this section, submit to Congress a report on the grant pro-
gram under this section. Such report shall include— 
‘‘(1) the number of patients served by the pro-
gram; 
‘‘(2) the geographic distribution of recipients of 
such grant and the provision of bereavement care in 
underserved areas; and 
‘‘(3) partnerships between such recipients and 
other community organizations. 
‘‘(f) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this section $150,000,000 for the period of fiscal 
years 2023 through 2027. 
‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—Of the funds made avail-
able to carry out this section for a fiscal year— 
‘‘(A) 33 percent shall be used for grants to 
provide grief and bereavement care to individ-
uals who have not yet attained the age of 18; 
and 
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‘‘(B) the remainder shall be used for 
grants to provide grief and bereavement care to 
other individuals. 
‘‘SEC. 598C. RESEARCH ON COVID–19 AND COMPLICATED 
GRIEF. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Director of the National Institutes of Health, shall 
conduct and support research examining the experience of 
complicated and prolonged grief, and the efficacy of inter-
ventions for prevention and treatment, including the 
unique circumstances of complicated and prolonged grief 
related to the COVID–19 pandemic and other national 
emergencies, with the goal of identifying unique needs of 
individuals seeking help for grief stemming from such 
emergencies. 
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$10,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2023 through 
2027.’’. 
Æ 
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