H.R. 6548

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6548 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6548

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish the Law 
Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Program, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

December 10, 2025

Mr. Thompson of Mississippi (for himself and Mr. Garbarino) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland 
Security

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish the Law 
Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Program, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``DHS Suicide Prevention and 
Resiliency for Law Enforcement Act''.

SEC. 2. DHS SUICIDE PREVENTION AND RESILIENCY FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT.

(a) In General.--The Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by 
inserting after section 710 the following new section:

``SEC. 710A. SUICIDE PREVENTION AND RESILIENCY FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT.

``(a) Department Components Defined.--In this section, the term 
`Department components' means the following:
``(1) U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
``(2) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
``(3) The Office of the Inspector General of the Department 
of Homeland Security.
``(4) The United States Secret Service.
``(5) The Transportation Security Administration.
``(6) Any other Department component with law enforcement 
officers or agents.
``(b) Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Program.--
``(1) Establishment.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish, 
within the office overseen by the Chief Medical Officer 
of the Department, the Law Enforcement Mental Health 
and Wellness Program (in this section referred to as 
the `Program') to provide a comprehensive approach to 
address the mental health and wellness of Department 
law enforcement officers and agents.
``(B) Administration.--The Secretary, working 
through the Program, shall carry out the following:
``(i) Establish policies and standard 
operating procedures, consistent with best 
evidence-based practices, that detail the 
authority, roles, and responsibilities of the 
Program.
``(ii) Conduct data collection and research 
on mental health, suicides, and, to the extent 
possible, attempted suicides, of Department law 
enforcement officers and agents, in accordance 
with section 552a of title 5, United States 
Code (commonly known as the Privacy Act of 
1974), section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 
1973 (29 U.S.C. 791), the Department's 
directives and policies, and section 2(a) of 
the Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act 
(Public Law 116-143).
``(iii) Track current trends and leading 
practices from other governmental and 
nongovernmental organizations for law 
enforcement mental health and wellness.
``(iv) Evaluate current mental health and 
resiliency programs within the Department 
components.
``(v) Promote education and training 
related to mental health, resilience, suicide 
prevention, stigma, and mental health resources 
to--
``(I) raise mental health 
awareness; and
``(II) support to supervisors, 
clinicians, care-givers, peer support 
members, chaplains, and other 
individuals.
``(vi) Establish a Peer-to-Peer Support 
Program Advisory Council, which shall--
``(I) include at least one licensed 
clinician and at least one official 
with requisite and relevant training 
and experience in peer support from 
each Department component;
``(II) evaluate Department 
component peer support programs;
``(III) identify and address any 
potential deficiencies, limitations, 
and gaps;
``(IV) provide for sharing of 
leading practices or best practices, 
including internationally recognized 
peer support standards of care 
protocols;
``(V) establish a peer support 
network that enables the sharing of 
trained peer support personnel, 
chaplains, and other peer-to-peer 
personnel across Department components; 
and
``(VI) sustain peer support 
programs through ongoing funding of 
annual and refresher training and 
resources for peer support programing 
in the workplace to--
``(aa) ensure minimum 
standards for peer support 
services; and
``(bb) provide appropriate 
care for peer support personnel 
across Department components.
``(vii) Assist Department components in 
developing a program to provide suicide 
prevention and resiliency support and training 
for the following:
``(I) Families of Department law 
enforcement officers and agents.
``(II) Surviving families of such 
officers and agents who have been lost 
to suicide.
``(viii) Work with law enforcement mental 
health and wellness program officials of 
Department components (including peer support-
trained personnel, agency mental health 
professionals, chaplains, and, for components 
with employees having an exclusive 
representative, the exclusive representative 
with respect to such program) to implement new 
policies, procedures, and programs that may be 
necessary based on findings from data 
collection, research, and evaluation efforts.
``(ix) Conduct regular outreach and 
messaging, across Department components, of 
available training opportunities and resources.
``(C) Confidentiality; limitation.--
``(i) Confidentiality.--Activities 
described in subparagraph (C) may not include 
the publication of any personally identifiable 
information.
``(ii) Limitation.--Personally identifiable 
information collected pursuant to subparagraph 
(C) may not be maintained or used for any 
purpose other than implementation of this 
section, unless otherwise permitted under 
applicable law. Any such personally 
identifiable information that is so collected, 
maintained, or used pursuant to this section is 
subject to applicable public nondisclosure 
requirements, including sections 552 and 552a 
of title 5, United States Code.
``(D) Personnel.--
``(i) Management.--The Workplace Health and 
Wellness Coordinator of the Department, under 
the direction of the Chief Medical Officer of 
the Department, shall be responsible for the 
ongoing management of the Program.
``(ii) Minimum core personnel 
requirements.--Subject to appropriations, the 
Secretary shall ensure the Program is staffed 
with the number of employees the Chief Medical 
Officer of the Department determines necessary 
to carry out the duties described in 
subparagraph (C), including representatives 
from each Department component and the Office 
of the Chief Privacy Officer.
``(2) Directive.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this section, the Chief Medical Officer of the 
Department shall carry out the following:
``(A) Issue a directive or policy that outlines the 
roles and responsibilities of the Program.
``(B) Distribute such directive or policy among 
Department components.
``(c) Coordination.--The Chief Medical Officer of the Department 
shall require the Program to regularly coordinate with the Department 
components by assigning at least one official from each such component 
to the Program for the purpose of coordinating with field points of 
contact who are responsible for carrying out duties within Department 
mental health and wellness programs.
``(d) Department Components.--The Secretary shall require the head 
of each Department component to prioritize and improve mental health 
and wellness programs that--
``(1) provide adequate resources for law enforcement mental 
health, well-being, resilience, and suicide prevention programs 
and research;
``(2) promote a culture that reduces the stigma of seeking 
mental health assistance through regular messaging, training, 
and raising mental health awareness;
``(3) offer several avenues of seeking mental health or 
counseling assistance, both within each such component and 
through private sources that provide for anonymity and include 
access to external mental health clinicians, service animals, 
and any other appropriate, data-driven resources that improve 
mental health;
``(4) review and revise relevant policies of Department 
components that inadvertently deter Department law enforcement 
officers and agents from seeking mental health or counseling 
assistance;
``(5) ensure such programs include safeguards against 
adverse or disciplinary action, including retaliation or 
automatic referrals for a fitness for duty examination, by each 
such component with respect to any Department law enforcement 
officer or agent solely because such officer or agent self-
identifies a need for psychological health counseling or 
assistance or receives such counseling or assistance;
``(6) implement policies that require in-person or live and 
interactive virtual suicide awareness and law enforcement 
resiliency trainings to be provided to Department law 
enforcement officers and agents;
``(7) make such trainings available--
``(A) upon the commencement of the employment of 
such Department law enforcement officers and agents
``(B) on an annual basis during such employment;
``(C) during the transition into supervisory roles; 
and
``(D) if feasible, shortly before termination of 
such employment if such officers and agents elect to 
participate in such trainings; and
``(8) include prevention and awareness training 
opportunities and support services for families of Department 
law enforcement officers and agents, as well as other 
Department personnel.
``(e) Data Collection and Evaluation.--
``(1) Assessment of effectiveness of law enforcement health 
and wellness programs.--The Workplace Health and Wellness 
Coordinator, under the direction of the Chief Medical Officer 
of the Department--
``(A) shall--
``(i) develop criteria to assess the 
effectiveness of law enforcement health and 
wellness programs carried out by the 
Department;
``(ii) conduct annual confidential surveys 
of Department law enforcement officers and 
agents to assist in evaluating the 
effectiveness of such programs; and
``(iii) ensure that the surveys conducted 
pursuant to clause (ii)--
``(I) incorporate leading practices 
in questionnaire and survey design and 
development; and
``(II) establish a baseline and 
subsequently measure change over time; 
and
``(B) may utilize contractor support in carrying 
out the duties described in subparagraph (A).
``(2) Recommendations.--The Chief Medical Officer of the 
Department shall provide recommendations to Department 
components based on the assessment of law enforcement health 
and wellness programs carried out by the Department and the 
results of the surveys conducted pursuant to paragraph (1).
``(3) Incident reports.--Each Department component shall 
report to the Workplace Health and Wellness Coordinator 
incidents of suicide involving Department law enforcement 
officers and agents, together with any data relating thereto 
consistent with data collected under section 2(a) of the Law 
Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act (Public Law 116-143). 
The Coordinator shall forward such information to the Law 
Enforcement Officers Suicide Data Collection Program 
established pursuant to such section.
``(4) Confidentiality; limitation.--
``(A) Confidentiality.--Activities described in 
paragraph (1) or reporting described under paragraph 
(3) may not include the publication of any personally 
identifiable information.
``(B) Limitation.--Personally identifiable 
information collected pursuant to paragraph (1) may not 
be maintained or used for any purpose other than 
implementation of this section, unless otherwise 
permitted under applicable law. Any such personally 
identifiable information that is so collected, 
maintained, or used pursuant to this section is subject 
to applicable public nondisclosure requirements, 
including sections 552 and 552a of title 5, United 
States Code.
``(f) Briefing.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section and annually thereafter through fiscal year 
2027, the Chief Medical Officer of the Department shall provide to the 
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a 
briefing regarding the implementation of this section.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by inserting after the 
item relating to section 710 the following new item:

``Sec. 710A. Suicide prevention and resiliency for law enforcement.''.
<all>