Bill · S. 1329· Senate(119-S-1329)
PEER Support Act
- Introduced
- 4/8/2025
- Last activity
- 4/8/2025 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Sponsored by
- Timothy Kaine
- Cosponsors
- - 4 - 3
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The PEER Support Act aims to address shortages in the behavioral health workforce by supporting peer support specialists. It defines these specialists as individuals with lived experience in recovery or as caregivers, who are certified to provide services. The bill requires the Office of Management and Budget to include peer support specialists as a specific occupational category by January 1, 2026. Additionally, it establishes the Office of Recovery within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This new office will focus on professionalizing the workforce and expanding access to recovery services. Finally, the Act directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to research and recommend ways to improve criminal background check processes for these specialists.
Yes· 3 of 8
Does this make mental health care easier to get?+8
The bill establishes the Office of Recovery to expand access to recovery support services for mental health and substance use disorders.
Does this do more about addiction and overdose deaths?+7
The bill supports the workforce essential for substance use disorder recovery, which is a key component of the opioid crisis response.
Does this make health care easier to get in general?+6
By professionalizing the peer support workforce, the bill aims to expand access to behavioral health recovery services.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Professional Recognition for Workers: By requiring the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to include an occupational category for peer support specialists in the Standard Occupational Classification system, the bill recognizes this as a specific profession (Section 3).
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Increased Support and Access: The establishment of the Office of Recovery is intended to help States, localities, and Indian Tribes expand the capacity of, and access to, recovery support services (Section 4).
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Workforce Development: The Office of Recovery will support the training, education, and professionalization of the peer support specialist workforce, as well as help create career pathways (Section 4).
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Reducing Barriers to Entry: The Secretary of Health and Human Services is tasked with researching and providing recommendations to States on background check processes that could reduce barriers to becoming certified as a peer support specialist (Section 5).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No specific negative impacts or burdens are explicitly mentioned in the provided text.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Healthcare
- Improves Mental Health Access+8Improves Opioid Crisis Response+7Improves Healthcare Access+6Increases Research Funding+3
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Low Income Households+5Good For Native Americans+5Good For People With Disabilities+5
- Economy And Finance
- Increases Job Creation+5
- 12/18/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 12/15/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 4/29/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 4/8/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- 4 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Tammy BaldwinDemocrat · Wisconsin
Jim BanksRepublican · Indiana
Amy KlobucharDemocrat · Minnesota
Lisa MurkowskiRepublican · Alaska
Jeanne ShaheenDemocrat · New Hampshire
Thomas TillisRepublican · North Carolina
Ron WydenDemocrat · Oregon