H.R. 4574: Strengthening Mental Health in Our Communities Act of 2014

113th Congress · introduced 2014-05-06 · Health · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2014-05-06 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Barber, Ron [D-AZ-2] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Strengthening Mental Health in Our Communities Act of 2014

Plain summary

Strengthening Mental Health in Our Communities Act of 2014 - Establishes the White House Office of Mental Health Policy to monitor federal mental health activities and develop a National Strategy for Mental Health, a comprehensive plan to provide services to individuals with mental illness. Amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize through FY 2019 various mental health grant programs, including programs for youth suicide prevention, homeless individuals, and diverting individuals with mental illness from the criminal justice system. Replaces youth interagency research, training, and technical assistance centers with a suicide prevention technical assistance center and authorizes the center through FY2019. Revises and extends through FY2019 grant programs to provide: (1) comprehensive community mental health services for children with serious emotional disturbances, and (2) for continued operation of the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI). Requires the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to create a national media public service campaign to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. Directs SAMHSA to award grants to states to create a Web-based acute psychiatric bed registry to facilitate the placement and treatment of individuals in psychiatric crisis. Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require coverage of antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs. Eliminates Medicare's 190-day lifetime limit on inpatient psychiatric hospital services. Expands Medicare coverage to include marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services. Authorizes through FY2019 additional appropriations for National Health Service Corps scholarships and loan repayments to ensure an adequate supply of behavioral and mental health professionals. Native American Psychiatric and Mental Health Care Improvement Act - Directs the Secretary to award one grant to a medical school to recruit and train psychiatric physicians for Indian health programs. Makes participating physicians eligible for the Indian Health Service Loan Repayment Program. Adds occupational therapists to the National Health Service Corps to address shortages in health professional shortage areas. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health to conduct or support research on the causes, prevention, and treatment of serious mental illness and violence associated with mental illness. Allows the Director of the National Institutes of Health to establish a Youth Mental Health Research Network to conduct or support youth mental health research and intervention services. Revises and extends through FY2019 a program for children dealing with violence. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to extend through FY2019 collaboration program grants and expand assistance to veterans and inmates with mental illness. Applies Medicaid, Medicare, and Medicare Advantage incentives for implementation of electronic health records to specified mental health professionals and facilities. Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to provide individuals enlisting in the Armed Forces with a mental health assessment to be used as a baseline for subsequent assessments. Directs DOD to furnish needed care for mental illness to any veteran who served on active duty in a combat zone. Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a pilot program for repaying student loans in exchange for service as a psychiatrist in the Veterans Health Administration.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Strengthening Mental Health in Our Communities Act of 2014

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Barber, Ron [D-AZ-2] · 66 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Diana DeGette (D-CO), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Doris O. Matsui (D-CA), Mike Thompson (D-CA), Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Grace Meng (D-NY), Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), John Garamendi (D-CA), Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Bill Foster (D-IL), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Betty McCollum (D-MN) and 6 more.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (4)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Ballot initiative: A proposed law or constitutional amendment that citizens place on the ballot by gathering enough voter signatures, so voters decide it directly. About half the states allow some form of it.
Fiscal year: The 12-month period a government uses for its budget. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends. Most states use July 1 to June 30.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-113hr4574.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/113/hr>

Record fed-us-cong113-hr4574 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong113 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong113