I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2646 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish grant programs to 
provide funding for mental health services in response to public health 
emergencies, for statewide plans for providing such services in response 
to such emergencies, and for the training of mental health professionals 
with respect to the treatment of victims of such emergencies, and to 
establish the National Mental Health Crisis Response Technical Assist-
ance Center. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 11, 2007 
Mr. JEFFERSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish grant 
programs to provide funding for mental health services 
in response to public health emergencies, for statewide 
plans for providing such services in response to such 
emergencies, and for the training of mental health pro-
fessionals with respect to the treatment of victims of 
such emergencies, and to establish the National Mental 
Health Crisis Response Technical Assistance Center. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mental Health Services 
in Public Health Emergencies Act’’. 
SEC. 2. GRANTS TO STATES AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS 
FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN RE-
SPONSE TO PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES. 
Subpart 3 of part B of title V of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–31 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 520K. GRANTS TO STATES AND POLITICAL SUBDIVI-
SIONS FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN 
RESPONSE 
TO 
PUBLIC 
HEALTH 
EMER-
GENCIES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services, 
may make grants to States and political subdivisions of 
States for the purpose of providing the mental health serv-
ices described in subsection (b) in response to public 
health emergencies, including diseases or disorders that 
present such emergencies, natural disasters, major trans-
portation accidents, technological disasters, and disasters 
resulting from terrorism. 
‘‘(b) SERVICES.—The mental health services referred 
to in subsection (a) with respect to a public health emer-
gency are the following: 
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‘‘(1) Crisis counseling in the aftermath of such 
emergency. 
‘‘(2) In the case of children, adolescents, and 
adults at risk of developing mental health disorders 
as a result of such emergency— 
‘‘(A) outreach and screening programs to 
identify such individuals; and 
‘‘(B) early intervention services, including 
counseling. 
‘‘(3) Mental health services beyond such crisis 
counseling (referred to in this section as ‘extended 
therapeutic services’) that— 
‘‘(A) are provided to individuals with diag-
nosed mental health disorders resulting from or 
exacerbated by the emergency, including dis-
aster survivors, family members of victims, first 
responders, and others with such disorders; and 
‘‘(B) are provided by mental health profes-
sionals who are licensed or otherwise regulated 
by a State agency. 
‘‘(4) Assessments of the need for extended 
therapeutic services. 
‘‘(5) Case finding and other outreach services 
to inform the public of the availability of crisis coun-
seling and extended therapeutic services. 
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‘‘(c) RELATION TO OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING.— 
A condition for the receipt of a grant under subsection 
(a) is that the applicant involved agrees as follows: 
‘‘(1) With respect to activities for which the 
grant is authorized to be expended, the applicant 
will maintain expenditures of non-Federal amounts 
for such activities at a level that is not less than the 
level of such expenditures maintained by the appli-
cant for the fiscal year preceding the first fiscal year 
for which the applicant receives such a grant. 
‘‘(2) The grant will not be expended to make 
payment for the provision of extended therapeutic 
services for an individual to the extent that payment 
has been made, or can reasonably be expected to be 
made, for the services— 
‘‘(A) under a State compensation program, 
under an insurance policy, or under a Federal 
or State health benefits program; or 
‘‘(B) by an entity that provides health 
services on a prepaid basis. 
‘‘(3) The grant will not be expended to make 
payment for the provision of mental health services 
to the extent that such services are available pursu-
ant to responses to the public health emergency in-
volved by the Federal Emergency Management 
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Agency, or by other Federal or State agencies or 
programs that provide for emergency medical serv-
ices. 
‘‘(d) STATEWIDE
MENTAL
HEALTH
DISASTER 
PLAN.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal year 2008 and 
each subsequent fiscal year, a condition for the re-
ceipt of a grant under subsection (a) by a State or 
a political subdivision is that, in accordance with cri-
teria established by the Secretary, the State has de-
veloped a statewide plan for the provision of mental 
health services in response to public health emer-
gencies. The preceding sentence applies without re-
gard to whether the State receives a grant under 
section 520L. 
‘‘(2) CERTAIN CRITERIA OF SECRETARY.—The 
criteria of the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall 
include criteria for coordinating the program under 
this section with programs of the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency and with other Federal 
or State programs regarding the provision of emer-
gency medical services, including mental health serv-
ices. 
‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION OF GRANT THROUGH STATE 
AND LOCAL MENTAL HEALTH AGENCIES.—A condition 
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for the receipt of a grant under subsection (a) is that the 
applicant involved agrees that the grant and activities 
under the grant will be administered through the agency 
of the State or political subdivision (as the case may be) 
that has the principal responsibility for carrying out men-
tal health programs. 
‘‘(f) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—With respect to an 
application that, pursuant to section 501(l), is submitted 
to the Secretary for a grant under subsection (a), the Sec-
retary may make the grant only if the application con-
tains— 
‘‘(1) a description of the purposes for which the 
applicant intends to expend the grant; 
‘‘(2) an assurance that the activities to be car-
ried out under the grant are consistent with the 
State plan referred to in subsection (d)(1), as appli-
cable, together with a description of the manner in 
which the grant activities will be coordinated with 
the State plan; 
‘‘(3) an assurance that the applicant will co-
ordinate activities under the grant with other public 
or private providers of mental health services, to-
gether with a description of the manner in which the 
grant activities will be so coordinated; and 
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