Congress·In Committee·H.R. 8493

Peer Support for Our First Responders Act of 2026

First Responder Mental Health Support

22 days ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process and has been sent to three different House committees for review. It is actively moving forward as it waits for these groups to study the proposal. There are no upcoming votes scheduled at this time.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Could go either way

The bill has support from both parties and addresses a popular topic, but many bills like this struggle to get a final vote before the session ends.

Key Points

This bill creates a federal group to study how to better support the mental health of police officers, firefighters, and other emergency workers. It focuses on programs where these workers help each other through shared experiences.
The group will look for the best ways to prevent suicide and treat drug or alcohol problems among first responders. They will also set standards for keeping these conversations private and making sure peer supporters are properly trained.
The team will include experts from the government, local agencies, and first responders who have used these programs themselves. They must release a public report and give advice to Congress within one year on how to improve these services.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Apr 23, 2026House

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Apr 23, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

News

No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Peer Support for Our First Responders Act of 2026

Bill NumberHR 8493

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.