Congress funds mental health crisis in EMS and fire services
H.R. 10116 — Lifeline for First Responders Act · Filed by Andrea Salinas (D-OR) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Aug 17, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill creates a new federal grant program to fund mental health, stress reduction, suicide prevention, and family support services for emergency medical services (EMS) personnel and first responders. Eligible organizations—fire departments, EMS agencies, and dispatch centers—can apply for grants to provide counseling, peer support, and training. The bill authorizes $7.5 million per year from 2028 through 2032.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is the establishment of a federal grant program to fund mental health and suicide prevention services for first responders and their families. It is a straightforward public-health appropriation with no deregulatory, tax, or liability components.
What the text implies
- Program depends on annual appropriations; authorization does not guarantee funding will be enacted in each fiscal year, so actual benefit may be lower than statutory authorization.
- Grants flow through NHTSA's Office of Emergency Medical Services, which may create administrative delays or bottlenecks if the office lacks capacity to manage a new program.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
fire departments and fire services; emergency medical services agencies; dispatch centers