S. 2446 – Mental Health for Latinos Act of 2025

AI-Generated Summary

Updated November 23, 2025 at 11:11 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 in Hispanic and Latino populations. It requires culturally and linguistically appropriate, age‑specific programs that involve community members and address both mental and physical health. The law also mandates annual public reporting on the program’s impact and provides $1 million for its first year of implementation.

Key Provisions

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

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S4701)

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

July 24, 2025

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

July 24, 2025

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S4701)

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

July 24, 2025

Floor Debate

3 members

What members said about S. 2446 on the floor

1 Republican2 Democrats

Sen. Alex PadillaD-CA · Jul 24, 2025

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Mental Health for Latinos Act to boost our continued efforts to reduce stigma and promote mental wellness, while meeting the diverse needs of Latino communities…

Sen. Alex PadillaD-CA · Jul 24, 2025

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Mental Health for Latinos Act to boost our continued efforts to reduce stigma and promote mental wellness, while meeting the diverse needs of Latino communities…

Sen. John ThuneR-SD · Jul 24, 2025

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Sen. Richard J. DurbinD-IL · Jul 24, 2025

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued July 24, 2025

II

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 2446

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

July 24, 2025

Mr. Padilla (for himself, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Heinrich, and Ms. Hirono) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

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 populations, 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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