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H.R. 1646: Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Act

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H.R. 1646: Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Act

116th Congress · introduced 2019-03-08 · Health · Latest: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2019-03-08 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Bera, Ami [D-CA-7] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. 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

Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Act

Plain summary

Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Act or the HERO Act This bill establishes a series of programs relating to the behavioral health of public-safety officers (e.g., law enforcement officers, firefighters, ambulance crew members, and 9-1-1 operators) and health care providers. For example, the bill establishes (1) a public-safety officer suicide-reporting system at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (2) a grant program for peer-support behavioral health and wellness programs within fire departments and emergency medical services agencies, and (3) a grant program for behavioral health and wellness programs for health care providers.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed 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

Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Bera, Ami [D-CA-7] · 89 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Jared F. Golden (D-ME), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), John Garamendi (D-CA), Norma J. Torres (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Darren Soto (D-FL), Salud O. Carbajal (D-CA), Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Elise M. Stefanik (R-NY), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Haley M. Stevens (D-MI), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Josh Harder (D-CA), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Katherine M. Clark (D-MA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Dina Titus (D-NV), Sharice Davids (D-KS), James A. Himes (D-CT), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Angie Craig (D-MN), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and 29 more.

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Bera, Ami [D-CA-7] reported raising $1.5 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

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 (1)
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong116-hr1646 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116