I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1385 
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 
FEBRUARY 25, 2021 
Mr. TRONE (for himself, Mr. EMMER, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. TONKO, and Mr. 
CA´RDENAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To establish the position of Interagency Coordinator for Be-
havioral Health to coordinate the programs and activities 
of the Federal Government relating to mental health, 
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 ‘‘Behavioral Health Co-
ordination and Communication Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY COORDINATOR FOR BEHAVIORAL 
HEALTH. 
(a) POSITION.— 
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(1) APPOINTMENT.—There is within the Execu-
tive Office of the President an Interagency Coordi-
nator for Behavioral Health (in this Act referred to 
as the ‘‘Interagency Coordinator’’) who shall— 
(A) be appointed by the President, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate; and 
(B) report directly to the President. 
(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Interagency Coordi-
nator shall— 
(A) have expertise in mental health and 
substance use disorders; and 
(B) have administrative experience. 
(3) TERM.—The Interagency Coordinator shall 
be appointed for a term of 5 years. The same indi-
vidual may be reappointed to serve as the Inter-
agency Coordinator for subsequent 5-years terms. 
(4) RATE OF PAY.—To the extent or in the 
amounts provided in advance in appropriation Acts, 
the Interagency Coordinator shall be paid at a rate 
equal to the rate of basic pay for level 1 of the Exec-
utive Schedule. 
(b) PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITY.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Interagency Coordi-
nator shall coordinate the programs and activities of 
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the Federal Government relating to mental health 
and substance use disorders. 
(2) CONSULTATION.— 
(A) REQUIRED
CONSULTATION.—In car-
rying out paragraph (1) with respect to any 
program or activity, the Interagency Coordi-
nator shall consult with— 
(i) the Assistant Secretary of Defense 
for Health Affairs; 
(ii) the Attorney General of the 
United States, the Administrator of the 
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention, and the Director of the Bureau 
of Prisons; 
(iii) the Director of National Drug 
Control Policy; 
(iv) the Secretary of Education, in-
cluding the Assistant Secretary for Special 
Education and Rehabilitative Services; 
(v) the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, the Assistant Secretary 
for Health, the Assistant Secretary for the 
Administration for Children and Families, 
the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health 
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and Substance Use, and the Director of 
the Indian Health Service; 
(vi) the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity; 
(vii) the Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development; 
(viii) the Secretary of Labor; 
(ix) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; 
and 
(x) the Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Minority Health. 
(B) ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION.—In car-
rying out paragraph (1) with respect to any 
program or activity, the Interagency Coordi-
nator may consult with the Director of the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Prevention, the 
Commissioner of Food and Drugs, the Director 
of the National Institutes of Health, the Ad-
ministrator of the Centers for Medicare & Med-
icaid Services, and such additional Federal offi-
cials as the Interagency Coordinator determines 
appropriate. 
(c) OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES.— 
(1) FRAMEWORK
FOR
MENTAL
HEALTH
AND 
SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS.—The Interagency Co-
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ordinator shall work with Federal departments and 
agencies to create a framework within and across 
such departments and agencies for mental health 
and substance use disorders. Such framework shall 
include the following: 
(A) Care coordination to better integrate 
mental health and substance use disorder care 
into health care settings and ensure seamless 
transitions for patients, including by— 
(i) promoting mental health and sub-
stance use disorder care earlier in the 
health care continuum; 
(ii) focusing on providing mental 
health and substance use disorder care in 
more appropriate settings and locations; 
(iii) promoting diversion to mental 
health and substance use disorder treat-
ment programs instead of incarceration for 
mental health conditions and substance use 
disorders; 
(iv) improving access to primary care 
and other medical services in community 
mental health and substance use disorder 
settings; 
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(v) promoting better treatment and 
services for mental health conditions and 
substance use disorders while incarcerated; 
and 
(vi) providing better coordination for 
wraparound services at every point in 
health care and the justice system for indi-
viduals with mental health conditions and 
substance use disorders, including social 
supports, housing, education, and employ-
ment. 
(B) A focus on adults, children, youth, and 
adolescents. 
(C) Creating and implementing a transi-
tion plan for patients with mental health condi-
tions or substance use disorders who change 
systems, departments, agencies, or services. 
(2) INVENTORY.—The Interagency Coordinator 
shall— 
(A) take an inventory of all positions, com-
mittees, task forces, grants, and funding 
streams in the Federal Government that are re-
lated to mental health and substance use dis-
orders; and 
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(B) provide suggestions to the President, 
the Congress, and relevant Federal departments 
and agencies on removing, restructuring, and 
reorganizing such positions, committees, task 
forces, grants, and funding streams. 
(3) KNOWLEDGE
CENTER.—The Interagency 
Coordinator shall establish and maintain a knowl-
edge center to provide to the public, including by 
means of a website, reliable information on mental 
health and substance use disorders, including insur-
ance information and navigation tools for the ap-
peals process for insurance denials. 
(4) BEST PRACTICES.—The Interagency Coor-
dinator shall identify best practices for— 
(A) culturally congruent and linguistically 
appropriate mental health and substance use 
disorder care; 
(B) comprehensive mental health and sub-
stance use disorder care; 
(C) continuity of mental health and sub-
stance use disorder care; 
(D) destigmatization of mental health con-
ditions and substance use disorders; and 
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(E) education campaigns on mental health 
and substance use disorders in a variety of set-
tings that include— 
(i) the full spectrum of education lev-
els, ranging from prekindergarten through 
higher education; 
(ii) a range of patient populations, in-
cluding pediatric, adult, geriatric, veteran, 
racial and ethnic minority populations, as 
well as patient populations in the justice 
system; 
(iii) a range of health care provider 
populations; and 
(iv) a range of providers in the justice 
system. 
(5) GUIDANCE ON MENTAL HEALTH AND SUB-
STANCE USE DISORDER TELEHEALTH TREATMENT 
ACROSS
STATE
LINES.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inter-
agency Coordinator shall issue guidance on collabo-
ration among States to enable mental health and 
substance use disorder care professionals to treat 
patients across State lines through telehealth tech-
nologies. 
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(6) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 
thereafter, the Interagency Coordinator shall submit 
a public report to the Congress and the President 
that includes— 
(A) a description of the activities of the 
Interagency Coordinator over the reporting pe-
riod; 
(B) the strategic goals of the Interagency 
Coordinator over the next 5- and 10-year peri-
ods; and 
(C) an inventory of all Federal programs 
pertaining to mental health and substance use 
disorders. 
(7) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Interagency Coor-
dinator shall submit a public report to the Congress 
and the President— 
(A) describing the racial, ethnic, disability, 
sex, and gender disparities within the mental 
health and substance use disorder workforce, 
describing how such disparities impact access to 
care, particularly for minority populations, and 
recommending how to address such disparities; 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Interagency Coordi-
nator may appoint such personnel (in this Act re-
ferred to as the ‘‘team’’) as the Interagency Coordi-
nator considers appropriate. 
(2) COMPOSITION.—The Interagency Coordi-
nator shall ensure that the team, collectively, has the 
following experience: 
(A) Working in an adult mental health set-
ting. 
(B) Working in a geriatric mental health 
setting. 
(C) Working in a child mental health set-
ting. 
(D) Working in an adult substance use dis-
order setting. 
(E) Working in a child substance use dis-
order setting. 
(F) Working in the adult justice system 
with a focus on mental health and substance 
use disorders. 
(G) Working in the juvenile justice system 
with a focus on mental health and substance 
use disorders. 
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(H) Working in a school or college cam-
pus-based setting with a focus on mental health 
and substance use disorders. 
(I) Working in a health care facility of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs with a focus on 
mental health and substance use disorders. 
(J) Working in a foster care setting. 
(K) Working in an integrated care setting. 
(L) Receiving mental health and substance 
use disorder care as an adult. 
(M) Receiving mental health and substance 
use disorder care as a child. 
(N) Having been incarcerated in the adult 
justice system while suffering from a mental ill-
ness or substance use disorder. 
(O) Having been detained in the juvenile 
justice system while suffering from a mental ill-
ness or substance use disorder. 
(P) Having been placed in a foster care 
setting. 
(Q) Experience providing mental health or 
substance use disorder care in minority and un-
derserved communities. 
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(3) DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 
Interagency Coordinator shall delegate to the team 
responsibilities including— 
(A) using the framework created under 
subsection (c)(1); 
(B) helping to identify Federal, State, 
Tribal, and local partnerships between the pub-
lic and private sectors for improving mental 
health and substance use disorders; and 
(C) help with implementation of this Act. 
(4) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE 
LAWS.—The team may be appointed without regard 
to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov-
erning appointments in the competitive service, and 
may be paid without regard to the provisions of 
chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that 
title relating to classification and General Schedule 
pay rates, except that an individual so appointed 
may not receive pay in excess of the annual rate of 
basic pay for GS–15 of the General Schedule. 
(5) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Inter-
agency Coordinator may procure temporary and 
intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 
5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals 
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not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate 
of basic pay for GS–15 of the General Schedule. 
(6) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon re-
quest of the Interagency Coordinator, the head of 
any Federal department or agency may detail, on a 
reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of that de-
partment or agency to the Interagency Coordinator 
to assist it in carrying out the responsibilities under 
this Act. 
(e) POWERS.— 
(1) HEARINGS
AND
SESSIONS.—The Inter-
agency Coordinator may, for the purpose of carrying 
out this Act, hold hearings, sit and act at times and 
places, take testimony, and receive evidence as the 
Interagency Coordinator considers appropriate. 
(2) POWERS
OF
TEAM
AND
AGENTS.—Any 
member of the team or agent of the Interagency Co-
ordinator may, if authorized by the Interagency Co-
ordinator, take any action which the Commission is 
authorized to take by this section. 
(3) OBTAINING
OFFICIAL
DATA.—The Inter-
agency Coordinator may secure directly from any de-
partment or agency of the United States information 
necessary to enable the Interagency Coordinator to 
carry out this Act. Upon request of the Interagency 
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Coordinator, the head of that department or agency 
shall, within 30 days of receiving the request, fur-
nish that information to the Interagency Coordi-
nator. 
(4) MAILS.—The Interagency Coordinator may 
use the United States mails in the same manner and 
under the same conditions as other departments and 
agencies of the United States. 
(5) ADMINISTRATIVE
SUPPORT
SERVICES.— 
Upon the request of the Interagency Coordinator, 
the Administrator of General Services shall provide 
to the Interagency Coordinator, on a reimbursable 
basis, the administrative support services necessary 
for the Interagency Coordinator to carry out the re-
sponsibilities under this Act. 
(6) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—To the extent or 
in the amounts provided in advance in appropriation 
Acts, the Interagency Coordinator may contract with 
and compensate government and private agencies or 
persons for supplies and services. 
(f) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘cul-
turally congruent’’ means consistent with preferred cul-
tural values, beliefs, worldview, language, and practices. 
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