I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4543 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a behavioral and 
mental health outreach and education strategy to reduce stigma associ-
ated with mental health among the Hispanic and Latino population, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 
Mrs. NAPOLITANO (for herself, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. MUCARSEL-POW-
ELL, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. SOTO, Ms. 
ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. CORREA, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. 
CA´RDENAS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. RUIZ, 
and Ms. SA´NCHEZ) 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 for 
a behavioral and mental health outreach and education 
strategy to reduce stigma associated with mental health 
among the Hispanic and Latino population, 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 ‘‘Reducing Mental 
Health Stigma in the Hispanic Community Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. HISPANIC AND LATINO BEHAVIORAL AND MENTAL 
HEALTH OUTREACH AND EDUCATION STRAT-
EGY. 
Part D of title V of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 290dd et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 553. BEHAVIORAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OUTREACH 
AND EDUCATION STRATEGY. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Assistant Secretary, shall, in coordination with advo-
cacy and behavioral and mental health organizations serv-
ing populations of Hispanic and Latino individuals or 
communities, develop and implement an outreach and edu-
cation strategy to promote behavioral and mental health 
and reduce stigma associated with mental health condi-
tions and substance abuse among the Hispanic and Latino 
populations. Such strategy shall— 
‘‘(1) be designed to— 
‘‘(A) meet the diverse cultural and lan-
guage needs of the various Hispanic and Latino 
populations; and 
‘‘(B) be developmentally and age-appro-
priate; 
‘‘(2) increase awareness of symptoms of mental 
illnesses common among such populations, taking 
into account differences within subgroups, such as 
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gender, gender identity, age, sexual orientation, or 
ethnicity, of such populations; 
‘‘(3) provide information on evidence-based, cul-
turally and linguistically appropriate and adapted 
interventions and treatments; 
‘‘(4) ensure full participation of, and engage, 
both consumers and community members in the de-
velopment and implementation of materials; and 
‘‘(5) seek to broaden the perspective among 
both individuals in these communities and stake-
holders serving these communities to use a com-
prehensive public health approach to promoting be-
havioral health that addresses a holistic view of 
health by focusing on the intersection between be-
havioral and physical health. 
‘‘(b) REPORTS.—Beginning not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this section and annu-
ally thereafter, the Secretary, acting through the Assistant 
Secretary, shall submit to Congress, and make publicly 
available, a report on the extent to which the strategy de-
veloped and implemented under subsection (a) increased 
behavioral and mental health outcomes associated with 
mental health conditions and substance abuse among His-
panic and Latino populations. 
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