{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://salinas.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-salinas-ciscomani-budzinski-fitzpatrick-introduce-bipartisan-legislation", "Reps. Salinas, Ciscomani, Budzinski, Fitzpatrick Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen America\u2019s Mental Health Workforce", "2025-12-11", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "OR", "Andrea Salinas", "S001226", "salinas.house.gov", "salinas", "https://salinas.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2014 Today, U.S. Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06) introduced bipartisan legislation with Reps. Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-08) to strengthen the mental and behavioral health workforce to better support rural and underserved communities that lack access to these essential providers. The Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act would establish a loan repayment program to help more people obtain degrees in mental and behavioral health to address the workforce crisis.\n\n\u201cWhere you live shouldn\u2019t determine the mental health care you receive. But too often, folks in rural and underserved corners of Oregon struggle because there aren\u2019t enough providers nearby, and the wait for care is too long,\u201d said Rep. Salinas. \u201cOur bill helps change that by making degrees in mental and behavioral health more affordable and by helping new clinicians build their careers in the communities that need them most. I\u2019m grateful to my colleagues for standing with me to make sure every Oregonian, regardless of where they live, can access the care they deserve.\u201d\n\n\u201cMental health care isn\u2019t a luxury\u2014it\u2019s a necessity. But when half the country lives in a provider shortage area, necessity becomes impossibility, and far too many are left waiting for care they urgently need,\u201d said Rep. Fitzpatrick, Co-Chair of the Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force. \u201cWith this legislation, we are correcting that imbalance: breaking down the debt barriers that keep clinicians out of the field, placing providers in the communities where help is hardest to find, and building a workforce strong enough to confront this crisis. Every American deserves timely, qualified treatment, and we must ensure they receive it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAccess to mental health care is a growing challenge in rural communities, including many across Arizona\u2019s Sixth District,\u201d said Rep. Ciscomani. \u201cAt a time when we\u2019re seeing a rise in suicides, I\u2019m proud to cosponsor this bill, which takes a practical, bipartisan step toward strengthening our mental health workforce. By helping repay student loans for those who commit to serving in high-need areas, we can recruit and retain more providers and ensure that more Americans have access to timely, quality care.\u201d\n\n\u201cMental health challenges touch every community, yet a shortage of providers means too many people struggle to access the care they need \u2014 especially in our rural areas,\u201d said Congresswoman Budzinski. \u201cOur bill will tackle this challenge head on by incentivizing mental health professionals to work in underserved areas. I\u2019m proud to champion this effort to strengthen the mental health workforce and get support to those who need it most.\u201d\n\nAcross the United States, nearly 60 million adults live with a mental illness, and over half of American youths who reported experiencing a mental health illness or issue in 2024 did not receive treatment. Across the country, there is only one mental health provider for every 340 people.\n\nNationwide, over half the country lives in a Mental Health Professional Shortage Area (MHPSA), and for people living in rural areas, the problem is even worse. By 2037, the U.S. is projected to have a mental health provider shortage of over 400,000 professionals. Despite this, mental health providers do not have access to dedicated loan forgiveness programs through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) like other clinicians.\n\nThe Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act would:\n\nEstablish a loan repayment program within HRSA for mental health providers;\n\nRequire participants to practice in a MHPSA;\n\nFor each year of service repay 1/6 of student loans for up to six years;\n\nRepay loans up to $250,000;\n\nAuthorize $25,000,000 for years 2026-2035.\n\n\"There is currently a critical shortage of mental health providers in this nation. This shortage is preventing individuals from getting timely access to mental health care,\" said Hannah Wesolowski, Chief Advocacy Officer, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). \"Representative Salinas' Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act will encourage more individuals to pursue careers in the mental health field by offering them desperately needed loan relief. NAMI is proud to support this bill.\"\n\n\u201cWith demand for critical mental health and substance use disorder care still alarmingly high, this much-needed investment in resources to build our behavioral health workforce represents a literal life-saver for people across the country, particularly in rural and other shortage areas,\u201d National Council for Mental Wellbeing President and CEO Chuck Ingoglia said. \u201cWe applaud Rep. Salinas and Rep. Budzinski for reintroducing this important legislation, which will greatly enhance our ability to attract and train a stronger workforce across the country.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe U.S. continues to face a shortage of mental health professionals, including psychologists, with nearly every county and district having a federally designated mental health professionals shortage area. As a nation, we must do everything possible to incentivize more qualified behavioral health providers to work with underserved populations, including in rural communities. The Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act would authorize a program to serve as a recruitment tool, setting us on a path to close these gaps in access to behavioral health services. The American Psychological Association applauds Representatives Salinas and Ciscomani on their leadership in introducing this bill,\u201d said Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, CEO of the American Psychological Association.\n\n\u201cSEAT is so proud to support the Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act. As a student-led organization, we care very deeply about young people having access to adequate, affordable, and quality mental health care. Many young people live in areas where access to mental health isn\u2019t available for miles and miles, often being unaffordable as well. Coming from a state like Texas, we rank almost dead last in access to mental health care and we are seeing increased suicide rates and mental health struggles among various minority communities and young people. We want to live in a world where our mental health and that of our most vulnerable peers is prioritized and we urge Congress to advance this bipartisan legislation to rapidly address the growing mental health crisis. We are extremely grateful to Congresswoman Salinas for her leadership in this space overall and for supporting youth voices, and we hope her colleagues follow suit,\u201d said Ayaan Moledina, Federal Policy Director, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT).\n\n\"Too often, people forego necessary mental health care due to lack of access. The American Psychiatric Association applauds Rep. Salinas for introducing the Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act, important legislation to mitigate severe mental health workforce shortages and help Americans get access to critical care,\u201d saidMarketa Wills, MD, MBA, FAPA / CEO and Medical Director American Psychiatric Association.\n\n\"The American Counseling Association proudly endorses the Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act. This legislation will expand access to mental health care in underserved communities and ease the financial burden of graduate education for licensed professional counselors\u2014strengthening the workforce at a critical time for our nation,\u201d said Guila Todd, ACA\u2019s Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy.\n\n\u201cOn behalf of the National Board for Certified Counselors & Affiliates, I extend heartfelt thanks to Rep. Salinas, Rep. Fitzpatrick, Rep. Budzinski, and Rep. Ciscomani for their bipartisan support in re-introducing the Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act. Supporting these dedicated professionals is essential as they will help build a strong mental health workforce and drive increased access to care across this great nation. This bill prioritizes some of the most underserved and vulnerable areas that are in dire need of support from mental health professionals. It is our honor to endorse this legislation that is vital to the overall health of our nation,\u201d saidBrian D. Banks, Executive Director, NBCC Policy Advocacy Research in Counseling Center.\n\n\"With demand for mental health services increasing and a shortage of providers nationwide, it is critical to develop both interim and long-term solutions. The Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act would address this issue by providing robust loan reimbursement to a broad array of providers serving in areas with the most acute shortages,\u201d said Jonah C. Cunningham, President/CEO, NACBHDD.\n\n\u201cIn 2022, an estimated 13.2 million adults seriously thought about suicide, 1.6 million attempted suicide, and millions more experienced mental health challenges. Despite the immense need for access to timely mental health care, more than 160 million people across the county live in designated mental health professional shortage areas,\u201d saidLaurel Stine, J.D., M.A., Executive Vice President and Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. \u201cThe Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act creates a critical loan repayment program to attract and retain mental health providers in these underserved communities. We thank Rep. Salinas, Rep. Budzinski, Rep. Fitzpatrick, and Rep. Ciscomani for leading on this important bipartisan legislation to provide greater access to mental health care and help save lives.\u201d\n\nThis legislation is also endorsed by American Counseling Association (ACA), American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), American Psychiatric Association (APA), American Psychological Association Services, Inc. (APA), Children's Hospital Association, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), National Association for Rural Mental Health (NARMH), National Association of Social Workers (NASW), National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors (NACBHDD), National Behavioral Health Association of Providers (NBHAP), National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), National Council for Mental Wellbeing, NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, Oregon Council for Behavioral Health, Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work, Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN), and Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT).\n\nTo read the full text of this legislation, click here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://salinas.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-salinas-ciscomani-budzinski-fitzpatrick-introduce-bipartisan-legislation"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8053779602050781, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}