Federal scholarship program aims to expand mental health workforce in underserved areas

What it does

This bill creates a federal scholarship program that pays tuition and living expenses for students pursuing careers in substance use disorder treatment, mental health, and behavioral health. In exchange, scholarship recipients must commit to working full-time in underserved areas (mental health shortage areas, high-overdose counties, or designated facilities) for one year per year of scholarship received. The scholarships are tax-free, and the program is authorized to spend $75 million annually through 2030.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a direct federal scholarship program tied to obligated service in underserved mental health and addiction treatment settings. It is a straightforward public-health workforce investment, not a tax carve-out, deregulation, or private subsidy.

What the text implies

• The program's success depends entirely on appropriations; if Congress fails to fund it, the authorization is meaningless and no scholarships are awarded.
• The 'covered employment' definition is broad enough to include private practices, potentially allowing scholarship recipients to work in for-profit settings while the public bears the training cost.
• The liquidated damages formula for breach is established by the Secretary, not Congress, creating discretion in how harshly contract violations are penalized.
• The Replacement Fund mechanism allows breach damages to be recycled into hiring replacement providers, but only if Congress appropriates funds; otherwise, collected damages may sit unused.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill directly expands access to mental health and addiction treatment by incentivizing workforce growth in underserved areas where these services are scarce. Citizens in high-overdose counties and mental health shortage areas gain access to more providers. The obligated-service requirement ensures public return on the investment, and the program explicitly prioritizes underrepresented groups in the mental health workforce.

Who stands to gain

• accredited educational institutions (tuition payments)
• health professions schools (distribution of informational materials)

Named in the bill

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accredited educational institutions, mental health professional shortage areas, substance use disorder treatment providers

Where it stands

3 cosponsors: 3 Democrats.

• May 29, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• May 29, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means and House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

6 lobbying clients named this bill on 10 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $928,686 in lobbying spend. A filing names 22 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 82% of bills with at least one filing.

Andrea Salinas, the sponsor, reported $700,715 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. (aota) — $378,000 on 2 filings
• National Council for Behavioral Health — $233,295 on 2 filings
• American Psychiatric Association — $137,391 on 1 filing
• National Association of Social Workers — $110,000 on 2 filings
• National Association of Social Workers — $50,000 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.