Congress mandates mental health plan for police, firefighters facing suicide crisis
S. 825 — Fighting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Act of 2025 · Filed by Chuck Grassley (R-IA) · 19 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 4, 2025 · Passed chamber
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What it does
This bill requires the Attorney General to develop and propose a federal program offering mental health treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder to police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, 911 dispatchers, and other public safety workers. The bill directs the Attorney General to submit a report within 150 days outlining at least one proposed program, including how it would be administered, what confidentiality protections would apply, and how much it would cost annually.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a directive to the Attorney General to study and propose a federal mental health treatment program for public safety workers. It is a feasibility and planning mandate, not an appropriations bill or a direct service delivery mechanism.
What the text implies
- The bill does not appropriate funds or mandate implementation—it requires only a report and proposal. Actual program launch would depend on future congressional appropriations and legislative action, creating a gap between the bill's intent and real-world delivery.
- The report must address telehealth and regional delivery models, potentially shifting mental health care for public safety workers away from local providers toward centralized federal or state systems, which could affect local mental health provider networks.
- Confidentiality protections are required as a condition of grants, but the bill does not specify enforcement mechanisms or penalties for breach, leaving implementation details to future regulation.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill addresses a documented public health crisis among public safety workers—an estimated 30% develop behavioral health conditions including PTSD, and between 125–300 police officers die by suicide annually. By requiring a federal program proposal with evidence-based trauma-informed care, peer support, and telehealth options, the bill expands access to mental health treatment for a vulnerable occupational group that currently lacks adequate resources. The bill itself does not appropriate fun
Who stands to gain
- mental health service providers (telehealth platforms, counseling firms, peer support organizations)
- federal contractors administering grant programs
Named in the bill
Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), Senate Committee on the Judiciary, House Committee on the Judiciary, Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–113), Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968
Where it stands
19 cosponsors: 12 Democrats, 7 Republicans.
- Mar 4, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Mar 4, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary”
- May 14, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably”
- Jun 10, 2026 — Passed the Senate · Congress.gov: “Passed Senate with amendments by Voice Vote. (consideration: CR S2723, S2726-2727; text: CR S2726-2727)”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
5 lobbying clients named this bill on 7 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $220,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 42 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 78% of bills with at least one filing.
Chuck Grassley, the sponsor, reported $49,167 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- International Association of Fire Chiefs — $70,000 on 2 filings
- Peace Officers Research Association of California — $50,000 on 1 filing
- International Union of Police Associations AFL-CIO — $40,000 on 2 filings
- Sergeants Benevolent Association of New York City — $40,000 on 1 filing
- National Alliance on Mental Illness — $20,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (5,325 characters) on Jul 10, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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