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H.R. 4723House119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

Mental Health for Latinos Act of 2025

Sponsored by Andrea SalinasRep. Andrea Salinas (D-OR)
Introduced July 23, 2025

AI-Generated Summary

Updated November 24, 2025 at 9:23 PM UTC

The Mental Health for Latinos Act of 2025 amends the Public Health Service Act to create a federal outreach and education strategy focused on improving behavioral and mental health and reducing stigma among Hispanic and Latino communities. It requires the Health Secretary to design culturally and linguistically appropriate programs that address the specific needs of these populations, involve community members, and connect mental health with overall health. The law also mandates annual public reports on the program’s impact and provides $1 million in funding for its first year.

Key Provisions

  • The Secretary, via the Assistant Secretary, must develop and run a outreach and education program aimed at reducing mental‑health stigma and substance‑abuse stigma among Hispanic and Latino people.
  • The program must be culturally and linguistically tailored, age‑appropriate, and consider differences such as gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnicity within the community.
  • It must raise awareness of common mental‑illness symptoms, share evidence‑based and culturally adapted treatment options, and involve community members and mental‑health consumers in creating materials.
  • The strategy should link mental health with overall physical health, using a comprehensive public‑health approach.
  • The Secretary must report to Congress and make public a yearly assessment of how the program improves mental‑health and substance‑abuse outcomes for Hispanic and Latino populations, starting one year after enactment.
  • The law authorizes $1,000,000 in funding for fiscal year 2026 to carry out the program.

Legislative Activity

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HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Energy and Commerce Committee

July 23, 2025

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

July 23, 2025

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Energy and Commerce Committee

July 23, 2025

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued July 23, 2025

I

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 4723

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 23, 2025

Ms. Salinas (for herself, Ms. Barragán, Mr. García of Illinois, Ms. Randall, Mr. Cisneros, and Mr. Ruiz) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a behavioral and mental health outreach and education strategy to reduce stigma associated with mental health among the Hispanic and Latino population, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Mental Health for Latinos Act of 2025.

2.

Hispanic and Latino behavioral and mental health outreach and education strategy

Part D of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290dd et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

554.

Behavioral and mental health outreach and education strategy

(a)

In general

The Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary, shall, in coordination with advocacy and behavioral and mental health organizations serving populations of Hispanic and Latino individuals or communities, develop and implement an outreach and education strategy to promote behavioral and mental health and reduce stigma associated with mental health conditions and substance abuse among the Hispanic and Latino populations. Such strategy shall—

(1)

be designed to—

(A)

meet the diverse cultural and language needs of the various Hispanic and Latino populations; and

(B)

be developmentally and age appropriate;

(2)

increase awareness of symptoms of mental illnesses common among such populations, taking into account differences within subgroups, such as gender, gender identity, age, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, of such populations;

(3)

provide information on evidence-based, culturally and linguistically appropriate and adapted interventions and treatments;

(4)

ensure full participation of, and engage, both consumers and community members in the development and implementation of materials; and

(5)

seek to broaden the perspective among both individuals in these communities and stakeholders serving these communities to use a comprehensive public health approach to promoting behavioral health that addresses a holistic view of health by focusing on the intersection between behavioral and physical health.

(b)

Reports

Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary, shall submit to Congress, and make publicly available, a report on the extent to which the strategy developed and implemented under subsection (a) improved behavioral and mental health outcomes associated with mental health conditions and substance abuse among Hispanic and Latino populations.

(c)

Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2026.

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