| 1 | 1 | | II |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION S. 609 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To improve mental health services of the Department of Veterans Affairs, |
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| 6 | 6 | | and for other purposes. |
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| 7 | 7 | | IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES |
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| 8 | 8 | | FEBRUARY18, 2025 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Mr. B |
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| 10 | 10 | | LUMENTHALintroduced the following bill; which was read twice and |
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| 11 | 11 | | referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs |
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| 12 | 12 | | A BILL |
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| 13 | 13 | | To improve mental health services of the Department of |
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| 14 | 14 | | Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. |
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| 15 | 15 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 16 | 16 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 |
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| 18 | 18 | | (a) S |
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| 19 | 19 | | HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 |
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| 20 | 20 | | ‘‘Building Resources and Access for Veterans’ Mental 5 |
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| 21 | 21 | | Health Engagement Act of 2025’’ or the ‘‘BRAVE Act 6 |
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| 22 | 22 | | of 2025’’. 7 |
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| 23 | 23 | | (b) T |
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| 24 | 24 | | ABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents for 8 |
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| 25 | 25 | | this Act is as follows: 9 |
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| 26 | 26 | | Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. |
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| 29 | 29 | | •S 609 IS |
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| 30 | 30 | | TITLE I—IMPROVEMENT OF WORKFORCE IN SUPPORT OF |
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| 31 | 31 | | MENTAL HEALTH CARE |
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| 32 | 32 | | Sec. 101. Report on market pay surveys for Readjustment Counseling Service |
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| 33 | 33 | | positions. |
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| 34 | 34 | | Sec. 102. Qualifications of appointees in occupations that support mental |
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| 35 | 35 | | health programs. |
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| 36 | 36 | | Sec. 103. Report on coordination of Veterans Health Administration with Read- |
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| 37 | 37 | | justment Counseling Service. |
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| 38 | 38 | | TITLE II—IMPROVEMENT OF VET CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE |
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| 39 | 39 | | AND TECHNOLOGY |
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| 40 | 40 | | Sec. 201. Vet Center defined. |
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| 41 | 41 | | Sec. 202. Comptroller General report on Readjustment Counseling Service |
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| 42 | 42 | | model for expansion of Vet Center footprint. |
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| 43 | 43 | | Sec. 203. Improvement of guidance and information to improve veteran out- |
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| 44 | 44 | | reach efforts by Vet Centers. |
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| 45 | 45 | | Sec. 204. Report on information technology system of Readjustment Counseling |
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| 46 | 46 | | Service. |
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| 47 | 47 | | TITLE III—WOMEN VETERANS |
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| 48 | 48 | | Sec. 301. Study on effectiveness of suicide prevention and mental health out- |
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| 49 | 49 | | reach programs of Department of Veterans Affairs for women |
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| 50 | 50 | | veterans. |
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| 51 | 51 | | Sec. 302. Requirement for Department of Veterans Affairs to modify the |
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| 52 | 52 | | REACH VET program to incorporate risk factors weighted for |
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| 53 | 53 | | women veterans. |
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| 54 | 54 | | Sec. 303. Review of and report on reintegration and readjustment services for |
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| 55 | 55 | | veterans and family members in group retreat settings. |
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| 56 | 56 | | TITLE IV—OTHER MATTERS |
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| 57 | 57 | | Sec. 401. Extension of Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention |
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| 58 | 58 | | Grant Program. |
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| 59 | 59 | | Sec. 402. Access to mental health residential rehabilitation treatment programs |
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| 60 | 60 | | for veterans with spinal cord injury or disorder. |
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| 61 | 61 | | Sec. 403. Mental health consultations and outreach on mental health services |
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| 62 | 62 | | for veterans receiving compensation for disabilities relating to |
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| 63 | 63 | | mental health diagnoses. |
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| 64 | 64 | | Sec. 404. Joint report on effectiveness of programs of Department of Veterans |
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| 65 | 65 | | Affairs and Department of Defense that promote access to |
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| 66 | 66 | | mental health services for transitioning members of the Armed |
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| 67 | 67 | | Forces. |
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| 70 | 70 | | •S 609 IS |
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| 71 | 71 | | TITLE I—IMPROVEMENT OF 1 |
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| 72 | 72 | | WORKFORCE IN SUPPORT OF 2 |
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| 73 | 73 | | MENTAL HEALTH CARE 3 |
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| 74 | 74 | | SEC. 101. REPORT ON MARKET PAY SURVEYS FOR READ-4 |
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| 75 | 75 | | JUSTMENT COUNSELING SERVICE POSI-5 |
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| 76 | 76 | | TIONS. 6 |
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| 77 | 77 | | (a) F |
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| 78 | 78 | | INDINGS.—Congress finds that the Secretary of 7 |
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| 79 | 79 | | Veterans Affairs, through the Chief Readjustment Coun-8 |
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| 80 | 80 | | seling Officer, reviews market pay surveys in each Read-9 |
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| 81 | 81 | | justment Counseling Service District to compare the sala-10 |
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| 82 | 82 | | ries of employees in the Readjustment Counseling Service 11 |
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| 83 | 83 | | of the Department of Veterans Affairs, including licensed 12 |
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| 84 | 84 | | professional mental health counselors, social workers, and 13 |
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| 85 | 85 | | marriage and family therapists, to the salaries of similarly 14 |
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| 86 | 86 | | situated employees within the Department and the private 15 |
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| 87 | 87 | | sector. 16 |
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| 88 | 88 | | (b) R |
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| 89 | 89 | | EPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 17 |
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| 90 | 90 | | of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 18 |
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| 91 | 91 | | to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 19 |
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| 92 | 92 | | the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep-20 |
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| 93 | 93 | | resentatives a report on the findings specified in sub-21 |
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| 94 | 94 | | section (a), which shall— 22 |
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| 95 | 95 | | (1) include an assessment of pay disparities be-23 |
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| 96 | 96 | | tween employees of the Readjustment Counseling 24 |
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| 97 | 97 | | Service of the Department and similarly situated 25 |
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| 100 | 100 | | •S 609 IS |
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| 101 | 101 | | employees within the Department and the private 1 |
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| 102 | 102 | | sector; and 2 |
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| 103 | 103 | | (2) identify if pay-related staffing challenges 3 |
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| 104 | 104 | | exist, and if so, determine if each Readjustment 4 |
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| 105 | 105 | | Counseling Service District has initiated a review of 5 |
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| 106 | 106 | | third-party survey data for the identified occupa-6 |
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| 107 | 107 | | tions. 7 |
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| 108 | 108 | | (c) D |
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| 109 | 109 | | ISTRICTS.—Each report submitted under sub-8 |
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| 110 | 110 | | section (b) shall include reports from all Readjustment 9 |
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| 111 | 111 | | Counseling Service Districts of the Department, includ-10 |
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| 112 | 112 | | ing— 11 |
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| 113 | 113 | | (1) areas that are geographically diverse; 12 |
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| 114 | 114 | | (2) rural areas; 13 |
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| 115 | 115 | | (3) highly rural areas; 14 |
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| 116 | 116 | | (4) urban areas; and 15 |
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| 117 | 117 | | (5) areas with health care shortages. 16 |
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| 118 | 118 | | (d) A |
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| 119 | 119 | | SSESSMENT OF PAY.—Each report submitted 17 |
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| 120 | 120 | | under subsection (b) shall include an assessment of pay 18 |
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| 121 | 121 | | based on the following factors: 19 |
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| 122 | 122 | | (1) Third-party survey data. 20 |
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| 123 | 123 | | (2) Geographic location. 21 |
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| 124 | 124 | | (3) Equivalent qualifications (licensure, edu-22 |
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| 125 | 125 | | cation level, or experience). 23 |
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| 126 | 126 | | (4) Short-term incentives. 24 |
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| 130 | 130 | | SEC. 102. QUALIFICATIONS OF APPOINTEES IN OCCUPA-1 |
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| 131 | 131 | | TIONS THAT SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH PRO-2 |
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| 132 | 132 | | GRAMS. 3 |
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| 133 | 133 | | (a) P |
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| 134 | 134 | | SYCHOLOGISTS.—Section 7402(b)(8)(C) of title 4 |
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| 135 | 135 | | 38, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘for a pe-5 |
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| 136 | 136 | | riod not to exceed’’ and all that follows through the period 6 |
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| 137 | 137 | | at the end and inserting ‘‘for a reasonable period of time 7 |
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| 138 | 138 | | recommended by the Under Secretary for Health.’’. 8 |
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| 139 | 139 | | (b) L |
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| 140 | 140 | | ICENSEDPROFESSIONAL MENTALHEALTH 9 |
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| 141 | 141 | | C |
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| 142 | 142 | | OUNSELORS.—Section 7402(b)(11)(B) of title 38, 10 |
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| 143 | 143 | | United States Code, is amended by striking the period at 11 |
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| 144 | 144 | | the end and inserting ‘‘, except that the Secretary may 12 |
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| 145 | 145 | | waive the requirement of licensure or certification for an 13 |
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| 146 | 146 | | individual licensed professional mental health counselor 14 |
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| 147 | 147 | | for a reasonable period of time recommended by the Under 15 |
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| 148 | 148 | | Secretary for Health.’’. 16 |
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| 149 | 149 | | SEC. 103. REPORT ON COORDINATION OF VETERANS 17 |
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| 150 | 150 | | HEALTH ADMINISTRATION WITH READJUST-18 |
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| 151 | 151 | | MENT COUNSELING SERVICE. 19 |
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| 152 | 152 | | (a) I |
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| 153 | 153 | | NGENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 20 |
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| 154 | 154 | | date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-21 |
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| 155 | 155 | | erans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ 22 |
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| 156 | 156 | | Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Af-23 |
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| 157 | 157 | | fairs of the House of Representatives a report regarding 24 |
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| 158 | 158 | | coordination between the clinical care system of the Vet-25 |
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| 162 | 162 | | erans Health Administration and the Readjustment Coun-1 |
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| 163 | 163 | | seling Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 2 |
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| 164 | 164 | | (b) A |
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| 165 | 165 | | SSESSMENT.—The report required by subsection 3 |
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| 166 | 166 | | (a) shall include an assessment of the adherence by each 4 |
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| 167 | 167 | | Director of a Veterans Integrated Service Network to poli-5 |
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| 168 | 168 | | cies of the Veterans Health Administration, which require 6 |
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| 169 | 169 | | each such Director to ensure that a support facility of the 7 |
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| 170 | 170 | | Department of Veterans Affairs is aligned laterally with 8 |
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| 171 | 171 | | each Vet Center to provide supportive administrative and 9 |
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| 172 | 172 | | clinical collaboration to better serve veterans eligible for 10 |
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| 173 | 173 | | services from Vet Centers, particularly those at high risk 11 |
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| 174 | 174 | | for suicide. 12 |
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| 175 | 175 | | (c) A |
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| 176 | 176 | | NALYSIS.—The report required by subsection (a) 13 |
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| 177 | 177 | | shall include an analysis of— 14 |
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| 178 | 178 | | (1) whether staff at Vet Centers in the local 15 |
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| 179 | 179 | | area of a medical facility of the Department have 16 |
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| 180 | 180 | | the updated contact information for appropriate 17 |
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| 181 | 181 | | staff at the medical facility to ensure proper coordi-18 |
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| 182 | 182 | | nation of care; 19 |
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| 183 | 183 | | (2) whether the external clinical consultant and 20 |
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| 184 | 184 | | suicide prevention coordinator of a medical facility of 21 |
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| 185 | 185 | | the Department are providing counseling staff of 22 |
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| 186 | 186 | | each Vet Center in the local area of the medical fa-23 |
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| 187 | 187 | | cility professional consultation not less frequently 24 |
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| 188 | 188 | | than monthly through regularly scheduled peer case 25 |
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| 192 | 192 | | presentations onsite at the Vet Center or via virtual 1 |
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| 193 | 193 | | or telephone consultation as necessary to fully sup-2 |
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| 194 | 194 | | port the coordination of care of patients, particularly 3 |
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| 195 | 195 | | those at high risk for suicide; 4 |
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| 196 | 196 | | (3) whether the external clinical consultant and 5 |
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| 197 | 197 | | suicide prevention coordinator are documenting any 6 |
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| 198 | 198 | | consultation conducted under paragraph (2); and 7 |
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| 199 | 199 | | (4) whether the Under Secretary for Health is 8 |
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| 200 | 200 | | coordinating with the Outreach Specialist at each 9 |
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| 201 | 201 | | Vet Center to ensure active duty members of the 10 |
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| 202 | 202 | | Armed Forces who are participating in the Transi-11 |
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| 203 | 203 | | tion Assistance Program of the Department of De-12 |
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| 204 | 204 | | fense are provided information regarding Vet Cen-13 |
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| 205 | 205 | | ters and the services provided at Vet Centers. 14 |
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| 206 | 206 | | (d) V |
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| 207 | 207 | | ETCENTERDEFINED.—In this section, the 15 |
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| 208 | 208 | | term ‘‘Vet Center’’ has the meaning given that term in 16 |
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| 209 | 209 | | section 1712A(h) of title 38, United States Code. 17 |
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| 210 | 210 | | TITLE II—IMPROVEMENT OF 18 |
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| 211 | 211 | | VET CENTER INFRASTRUC-19 |
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| 212 | 212 | | TURE AND TECHNOLOGY 20 |
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| 213 | 213 | | SEC. 201. VET CENTER DEFINED. 21 |
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| 214 | 214 | | In this title, the term ‘‘Vet Center’’ has the meaning 22 |
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| 215 | 215 | | given that term in section 1712A(h) of title 38, United 23 |
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| 216 | 216 | | States Code. 24 |
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| 220 | 220 | | SEC. 202. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON READJUST-1 |
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| 221 | 221 | | MENT COUNSELING SERVICE MODEL FOR EX-2 |
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| 222 | 222 | | PANSION OF VET CENTER FOOTPRINT. 3 |
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| 223 | 223 | | (a) I |
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| 224 | 224 | | NGENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 4 |
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| 225 | 225 | | date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 5 |
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| 226 | 226 | | of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 6 |
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| 227 | 227 | | Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Vet-7 |
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| 228 | 228 | | erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 8 |
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| 229 | 229 | | assessing the model used by the Readjustment Counseling 9 |
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| 230 | 230 | | Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs to guide 10 |
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| 231 | 231 | | the expansion of the real property footprint of Vet Cen-11 |
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| 232 | 232 | | ters. 12 |
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| 233 | 233 | | (b) E |
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| 234 | 234 | | LEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 13 |
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| 235 | 235 | | (a) shall assess— 14 |
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| 236 | 236 | | (1) whether the model described in such sub-15 |
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| 237 | 237 | | section adequately accounts for the demand for Vet 16 |
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| 238 | 238 | | Center services in rural areas; 17 |
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| 239 | 239 | | (2) whether the frequency with which the Sec-18 |
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| 240 | 240 | | retary of Veterans Affairs is reassessing areas for 19 |
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| 241 | 241 | | potential expansion of Vet Center services is often 20 |
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| 242 | 242 | | enough to address any population shifts; 21 |
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| 243 | 243 | | (3) whether such model adequately considers 22 |
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| 244 | 244 | | the needs of veterans in areas with high rates of 23 |
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| 245 | 245 | | calls to the Veterans Crisis Line or high rates of sui-24 |
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| 246 | 246 | | cide by veterans or members of the Armed Forces; 25 |
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| 250 | 250 | | (4) whether such model adequately accounts for 1 |
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| 251 | 251 | | trends in usage of mobile Vet Centers in a given 2 |
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| 252 | 252 | | area; and 3 |
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| 253 | 253 | | (5) whether such model takes into account the 4 |
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| 254 | 254 | | unique needs of veterans and members of the Armed 5 |
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| 255 | 255 | | Forces in areas being assessed. 6 |
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| 256 | 256 | | (c) V |
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| 257 | 257 | | ETERANSCRISISLINE.—In this section, the 7 |
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| 258 | 258 | | term ‘‘Veterans Crisis Line’’ means the toll-free hotline 8 |
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| 259 | 259 | | for veterans established under section 1720F(h) of title 9 |
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| 260 | 260 | | 38, United States Code. 10 |
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| 261 | 261 | | SEC. 203. IMPROVEMENT OF GUIDANCE AND INFORMATION 11 |
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| 262 | 262 | | TO IMPROVE VETERAN OUTREACH EFFORTS 12 |
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| 263 | 263 | | BY VET CENTERS. 13 |
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| 264 | 264 | | Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-14 |
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| 265 | 265 | | ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— 15 |
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| 266 | 266 | | (1) ensure each Vet Center has demographic 16 |
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| 267 | 267 | | data, such as age, gender, race, and ethnicity, for in-17 |
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| 268 | 268 | | dividuals eligible for Vet Center services in the serv-18 |
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| 269 | 269 | | ice area of such Vet Center to be used to tailor out-19 |
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| 270 | 270 | | reach activities, including data on veterans who have 20 |
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| 271 | 271 | | recently transitioned from service in the Armed 21 |
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| 272 | 272 | | Forces; 22 |
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| 273 | 273 | | (2) provide Vet Centers with guidance for as-23 |
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| 274 | 274 | | sessing the effectiveness of outreach activities, in-24 |
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| 275 | 275 | | cluding guidance on metrics for those activities and 25 |
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| 279 | 279 | | targets against which to assess those metrics to de-1 |
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| 280 | 280 | | termine effectiveness; 2 |
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| 281 | 281 | | (3) develop and implement a process to periodi-3 |
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| 282 | 282 | | cally assess the extent to which veterans and mem-4 |
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| 283 | 283 | | bers of the Armed Forces who are eligible for serv-5 |
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| 284 | 284 | | ices from Vet Centers experience barriers to obtain-6 |
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| 285 | 285 | | ing such services, including a lack of awareness 7 |
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| 286 | 286 | | about Vet Centers and challenges accessing Vet Cen-8 |
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| 287 | 287 | | ter services; and 9 |
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| 288 | 288 | | (4) develop and implement a process to periodi-10 |
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| 289 | 289 | | cally assess the extent to which staff of Vet Centers 11 |
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| 290 | 290 | | may encounter barriers to providing services. 12 |
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| 291 | 291 | | SEC. 204. REPORT ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM 13 |
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| 292 | 292 | | OF READJUSTMENT COUNSELING SERVICE. 14 |
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| 293 | 293 | | Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact-15 |
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| 294 | 294 | | ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 16 |
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| 295 | 295 | | through the Chief Readjustment Counseling Officer of the 17 |
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| 296 | 296 | | Veterans Health Administration, shall submit to the Com-18 |
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| 297 | 297 | | mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com-19 |
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| 298 | 298 | | mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa-20 |
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| 299 | 299 | | tives a report identifying— 21 |
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| 300 | 300 | | (1) whether the Department of Veterans Affairs 22 |
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| 301 | 301 | | is retaining or replacing the current information 23 |
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| 302 | 302 | | technology platform of the Department, commonly 24 |
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| 303 | 303 | | referred to as ‘‘RCSNet’’, which is currently used to 25 |
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| 307 | 307 | | manage certain parts of the daily work of employees 1 |
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| 308 | 308 | | of the Readjustment Counseling Service and oper-2 |
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| 309 | 309 | | ational data and management functions of the Read-3 |
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| 310 | 310 | | justment Counseling Service; 4 |
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| 311 | 311 | | (2) if the Department intends to keep RCSNet, 5 |
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| 312 | 312 | | the rationale for that decision and an identification 6 |
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| 313 | 313 | | of the steps the Department is taking to maintain 7 |
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| 314 | 314 | | or improve the functionality of RCSNet and the 8 |
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| 315 | 315 | | timeline for those steps; and 9 |
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| 316 | 316 | | (3) if the Department intends to replace 10 |
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| 317 | 317 | | RCSNet, the rationale for that decision and an iden-11 |
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| 318 | 318 | | tification of the steps the Department is taking to 12 |
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| 319 | 319 | | implement that replacement, including a timeline 13 |
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| 320 | 320 | | and the estimated cost for that replacement. 14 |
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| 321 | 321 | | TITLE III—WOMEN VETERANS 15 |
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| 322 | 322 | | SEC. 301. STUDY ON EFFECTIVENESS OF SUICIDE PREVEN-16 |
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| 323 | 323 | | TION AND MENTAL HEALTH OUTREACH PRO-17 |
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| 324 | 324 | | GRAMS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-18 |
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| 325 | 325 | | FAIRS FOR WOMEN VETERANS. 19 |
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| 326 | 326 | | (a) I |
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| 327 | 327 | | NGENERAL.—Not later than 240 days after the 20 |
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| 328 | 328 | | date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-21 |
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| 329 | 329 | | erans Affairs shall conduct surveys and host listening ses-22 |
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| 330 | 330 | | sions with women veterans to determine the extent to 23 |
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| 331 | 331 | | which— 24 |
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| 334 | 334 | | •S 609 IS |
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| 335 | 335 | | (1) suicide prevention, lethal-means safety, and 1 |
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| 336 | 336 | | mental health resources and messaging campaigns of 2 |
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| 337 | 337 | | the Department of Veterans Affairs are perceived 3 |
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| 338 | 338 | | and accepted by women veterans; 4 |
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| 339 | 339 | | (2) women veterans find those resources and 5 |
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| 340 | 340 | | messaging campaigns effective and sufficiently tai-6 |
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| 341 | 341 | | lored to women veterans; 7 |
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| 342 | 342 | | (3) the integration into those resources and 8 |
|---|
| 343 | 343 | | messaging campaigns of information pertaining to 9 |
|---|
| 344 | 344 | | military sexual trauma, intimate partner violence, 10 |
|---|
| 345 | 345 | | and trauma-informed health care would make those 11 |
|---|
| 346 | 346 | | resources and messaging campaigns more effective 12 |
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| 347 | 347 | | for women veterans; 13 |
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| 348 | 348 | | (4) the Department could make additional im-14 |
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| 349 | 349 | | provements to those resources and messaging cam-15 |
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| 350 | 350 | | paigns, including the Women’s Health Transition 16 |
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| 351 | 351 | | Training Program, to make those resources and 17 |
|---|
| 352 | 352 | | messaging campaigns more effective for women vet-18 |
|---|
| 353 | 353 | | erans; and 19 |
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| 354 | 354 | | (5) programs and services of the Department 20 |
|---|
| 355 | 355 | | are targeted at women veterans of different ages and 21 |
|---|
| 356 | 356 | | eras of services, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and 22 |
|---|
| 357 | 357 | | geographical areas. 23 |
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| 358 | 358 | | (b) P |
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| 359 | 359 | | OPULATIONSTUDIED.—The Secretary shall 24 |
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| 360 | 360 | | conduct the surveys and listening sessions required under 25 |
|---|
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| 363 | 363 | | •S 609 IS |
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| 364 | 364 | | subsection (a) in urban and rural areas and shall ensure 1 |
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| 365 | 365 | | such surveys and listening sessions are targeted at dif-2 |
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| 366 | 366 | | ferent demographics. 3 |
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| 367 | 367 | | (c) R |
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| 368 | 368 | | EPORT.—Not later than one year after the sur-4 |
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| 369 | 369 | | veys and listening sessions required under subsection (a) 5 |
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| 370 | 370 | | are complete, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 6 |
|---|
| 371 | 371 | | on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 7 |
|---|
| 372 | 372 | | Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 8 |
|---|
| 373 | 373 | | on the findings of such surveys and listening sessions, 9 |
|---|
| 374 | 374 | | which shall document the steps the Secretary intends to 10 |
|---|
| 375 | 375 | | take to refine the suicide prevention, lethal-means safety, 11 |
|---|
| 376 | 376 | | and mental health resources and messaging campaigns of 12 |
|---|
| 377 | 377 | | the Department based on the feedback from such surveys 13 |
|---|
| 378 | 378 | | and listening sessions to ensure the Secretary is utilizing 14 |
|---|
| 379 | 379 | | the most effective strategies. 15 |
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| 380 | 380 | | SEC. 302. REQUIREMENT FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 16 |
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| 381 | 381 | | AFFAIRS TO MODIFY THE REACH VET PRO-17 |
|---|
| 382 | 382 | | GRAM TO INCORPORATE RISK FACTORS 18 |
|---|
| 383 | 383 | | WEIGHTED FOR WOMEN VETERANS. 19 |
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| 384 | 384 | | Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact-20 |
|---|
| 385 | 385 | | ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 21 |
|---|
| 386 | 386 | | initiate efforts to modify the Recovery Engagement and 22 |
|---|
| 387 | 387 | | Coordination for Health–Veterans Enhanced Treatment 23 |
|---|
| 388 | 388 | | program (‘‘REACH VET’’) to incorporate into such pro-24 |
|---|
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| 391 | 391 | | •S 609 IS |
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| 392 | 392 | | gram risk factors weighted for women, such as military 1 |
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| 393 | 393 | | sexual trauma and intimate partner violence. 2 |
|---|
| 394 | 394 | | SEC. 303. REVIEW OF AND REPORT ON REINTEGRATION 3 |
|---|
| 395 | 395 | | AND READJUSTMENT SERVICES FOR VET-4 |
|---|
| 396 | 396 | | ERANS AND FAMILY MEMBERS IN GROUP RE-5 |
|---|
| 397 | 397 | | TREAT SETTINGS. 6 |
|---|
| 398 | 398 | | (a) R |
|---|
| 399 | 399 | | EVIEW.—Not later than 60 days after the date 7 |
|---|
| 400 | 400 | | of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 8 |
|---|
| 401 | 401 | | Affairs shall review all requests for reintegration and read-9 |
|---|
| 402 | 402 | | justment services for veterans and family members of vet-10 |
|---|
| 403 | 403 | | erans in group retreat program settings under section 11 |
|---|
| 404 | 404 | | 1712A(a)(1)(B)(ii) of title 38, United States Code, to de-12 |
|---|
| 405 | 405 | | termine if current retreat programming meets demand, 13 |
|---|
| 406 | 406 | | specifically requests for— 14 |
|---|
| 407 | 407 | | (1) women only retreats; 15 |
|---|
| 408 | 408 | | (2) disabled access retreats, particularly wheel-16 |
|---|
| 409 | 409 | | chair accessible retreats; and 17 |
|---|
| 410 | 410 | | (3) retreats for veterans with specific medical 18 |
|---|
| 411 | 411 | | needs. 19 |
|---|
| 412 | 412 | | (b) R |
|---|
| 413 | 413 | | EPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 20 |
|---|
| 414 | 414 | | of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 21 |
|---|
| 415 | 415 | | to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 22 |
|---|
| 416 | 416 | | the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep-23 |
|---|
| 417 | 417 | | resentatives a report on whether the provision by the Sec-24 |
|---|
| 418 | 418 | | retary of reintegration and readjustment services for vet-25 |
|---|
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| 421 | 421 | | •S 609 IS |
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| 422 | 422 | | erans and family members of veterans in group retreat 1 |
|---|
| 423 | 423 | | program settings should be increased and made perma-2 |
|---|
| 424 | 424 | | nent, including— 3 |
|---|
| 425 | 425 | | (1) women only retreats; 4 |
|---|
| 426 | 426 | | (2) disabled access retreats, particularly wheel-5 |
|---|
| 427 | 427 | | chair accessible retreats; and 6 |
|---|
| 428 | 428 | | (3) retreats for veterans with specific medical 7 |
|---|
| 429 | 429 | | needs. 8 |
|---|
| 430 | 430 | | TITLE IV—OTHER MATTERS 9 |
|---|
| 431 | 431 | | SEC. 401. EXTENSION OF STAFF SERGEANT PARKER GOR-10 |
|---|
| 432 | 432 | | DON FOX SUICIDE PREVENTION GRANT PRO-11 |
|---|
| 433 | 433 | | GRAM. 12 |
|---|
| 434 | 434 | | Section 201 of the Commander John Scott Hannon 13 |
|---|
| 435 | 435 | | Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019 14 |
|---|
| 436 | 436 | | (Public Law 116–171; 38 U.S.C. 1720F note) is amend-15 |
|---|
| 437 | 437 | | ed— 16 |
|---|
| 438 | 438 | | (1) in subsection (c)(2)(A), by striking 17 |
|---|
| 439 | 439 | | ‘‘$750,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000,000’’; and 18 |
|---|
| 440 | 440 | | (2) in subsection (j), by striking ‘‘three years’’ 19 |
|---|
| 441 | 441 | | and inserting ‘‘six years’’. 20 |
|---|
| 442 | 442 | | SEC. 402. ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH RESIDENTIAL REHA-21 |
|---|
| 443 | 443 | | BILITATION TREATMENT PROGRAMS FOR 22 |
|---|
| 444 | 444 | | VETERANS WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY OR 23 |
|---|
| 445 | 445 | | DISORDER. 24 |
|---|
| 446 | 446 | | (a) P |
|---|
| 447 | 447 | | LAN.— 25 |
|---|
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| 450 | 450 | | •S 609 IS |
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| 451 | 451 | | (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 1 |
|---|
| 452 | 452 | | the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 2 |
|---|
| 453 | 453 | | of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee 3 |
|---|
| 454 | 454 | | on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com-4 |
|---|
| 455 | 455 | | mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep-5 |
|---|
| 456 | 456 | | resentatives a plan to ensure access to mental health 6 |
|---|
| 457 | 457 | | residential treatment programs of the Department of 7 |
|---|
| 458 | 458 | | Veterans Affairs for veterans with a spinal cord in-8 |
|---|
| 459 | 459 | | jury or disorder. 9 |
|---|
| 460 | 460 | | (2) E |
|---|
| 461 | 461 | | LEMENTS.—The plan required under 10 |
|---|
| 462 | 462 | | paragraph (1) shall include— 11 |
|---|
| 463 | 463 | | (A) a staffing plan, which shall include a 12 |
|---|
| 464 | 464 | | plan for how the Department will— 13 |
|---|
| 465 | 465 | | (i) incorporate staff from other facili-14 |
|---|
| 466 | 466 | | ties to support the pilot program required 15 |
|---|
| 467 | 467 | | under subsection (b); and 16 |
|---|
| 468 | 468 | | (ii) ensure adequate staffing to sup-17 |
|---|
| 469 | 469 | | port the needs of veterans with a spinal 18 |
|---|
| 470 | 470 | | cord injury or disorder; 19 |
|---|
| 471 | 471 | | (B) an assessment of medical equipment 20 |
|---|
| 472 | 472 | | needs; and 21 |
|---|
| 473 | 473 | | (C) an assessment of the best location to 22 |
|---|
| 474 | 474 | | deliver treatment and health care under the 23 |
|---|
| 475 | 475 | | mental health residential treatment programs of 24 |
|---|
| 476 | 476 | | the Department, including through the use of 25 |
|---|
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| 479 | 479 | | •S 609 IS |
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| 480 | 480 | | spinal cord injury or disorder centers and spinal 1 |
|---|
| 481 | 481 | | cord injury or disorder spokes. 2 |
|---|
| 482 | 482 | | (b) P |
|---|
| 483 | 483 | | ILOTPROGRAM.—Commencing not later than 3 |
|---|
| 484 | 484 | | 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 4 |
|---|
| 485 | 485 | | Secretary shall carry out a pilot program to provide access 5 |
|---|
| 486 | 486 | | to mental health residential treatment programs of the 6 |
|---|
| 487 | 487 | | Department for veterans with a spinal cord injury or dis-7 |
|---|
| 488 | 488 | | order at not fewer than three medical facilities of the De-8 |
|---|
| 489 | 489 | | partment. 9 |
|---|
| 490 | 490 | | (c) R |
|---|
| 491 | 491 | | EPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 10 |
|---|
| 492 | 492 | | of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 11 |
|---|
| 493 | 493 | | to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 12 |
|---|
| 494 | 494 | | the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep-13 |
|---|
| 495 | 495 | | resentatives a report on— 14 |
|---|
| 496 | 496 | | (1) the implementation of the plan required 15 |
|---|
| 497 | 497 | | under subsection (a); 16 |
|---|
| 498 | 498 | | (2) the initial results from the pilot program 17 |
|---|
| 499 | 499 | | under subsection (b); and 18 |
|---|
| 500 | 500 | | (3) plans to expand the mental health residen-19 |
|---|
| 501 | 501 | | tial treatment programs of the Department to addi-20 |
|---|
| 502 | 502 | | tional medical facilities of the Department to ad-21 |
|---|
| 503 | 503 | | dress demand for the highly specialized treatment 22 |
|---|
| 504 | 504 | | provided under such programs for veterans with a 23 |
|---|
| 505 | 505 | | spinal cord injury or disorder. 24 |
|---|
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| 508 | 508 | | •S 609 IS |
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| 509 | 509 | | SEC. 403. MENTAL HEALTH CONSULTATIONS AND OUT-1 |
|---|
| 510 | 510 | | REACH ON MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR 2 |
|---|
| 511 | 511 | | VETERANS RECEIVING COMPENSATION FOR 3 |
|---|
| 512 | 512 | | DISABILITIES RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH 4 |
|---|
| 513 | 513 | | DIAGNOSES. 5 |
|---|
| 514 | 514 | | (a) T |
|---|
| 515 | 515 | | ECHNICALCORRECTIONS.— 6 |
|---|
| 516 | 516 | | (1) I |
|---|
| 517 | 517 | | N GENERAL.—The section 1167 of title 38, 7 |
|---|
| 518 | 518 | | United States Code, relating to mental health con-8 |
|---|
| 519 | 519 | | sultations, is redesignated as section 1169. 9 |
|---|
| 520 | 520 | | (2) C |
|---|
| 521 | 521 | | LERICAL AMENDMENTS .—The table of sec-10 |
|---|
| 522 | 522 | | tions at the beginning of chapter 11 is amended— 11 |
|---|
| 523 | 523 | | (A) by striking the item relating to the sec-12 |
|---|
| 524 | 524 | | tion 1167 relating to mental health consulta-13 |
|---|
| 525 | 525 | | tions; and 14 |
|---|
| 526 | 526 | | (B) adding after the item relating to sec-15 |
|---|
| 527 | 527 | | tion 1168 the following new item: 16 |
|---|
| 528 | 528 | | ‘‘1169. Mental health consultations.’’. |
|---|
| 529 | 529 | | (b) IMPROVEMENTS.—Section 1169 of such title, as 17 |
|---|
| 530 | 530 | | redesignated by subsection (a), is amended— 18 |
|---|
| 531 | 531 | | (1) in subsection (a), in the subsection heading, 19 |
|---|
| 532 | 532 | | by striking ‘‘I |
|---|
| 533 | 533 | | NGENERAL’’ and inserting ‘‘INITIAL 20 |
|---|
| 534 | 534 | | M |
|---|
| 535 | 535 | | ENTALHEALTHCONSULTATIONS’’; 21 |
|---|
| 536 | 536 | | (2) by redesignating subsection (b) and (c) as 22 |
|---|
| 537 | 537 | | subsections (c) and (d), respectively; 23 |
|---|
| 538 | 538 | | (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol-24 |
|---|
| 539 | 539 | | lowing new subsection (b): 25 |
|---|
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| 542 | 542 | | •S 609 IS |
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| 543 | 543 | | ‘‘(b) ANNUALMENTALHEALTHCONSULTATIONS 1 |
|---|
| 544 | 544 | | ANDOUTREACH.—Not less frequently than once each 2 |
|---|
| 545 | 545 | | year, the Secretary shall— 3 |
|---|
| 546 | 546 | | ‘‘(1) offer to each veteran who is receiving com-4 |
|---|
| 547 | 547 | | pensation under this chapter for a service-connected 5 |
|---|
| 548 | 548 | | disability relating to a mental health diagnosis a 6 |
|---|
| 549 | 549 | | mental health consultation to assess the mental 7 |
|---|
| 550 | 550 | | health needs of, and discuss other mental health 8 |
|---|
| 551 | 551 | | care options for, the veteran; and 9 |
|---|
| 552 | 552 | | ‘‘(2) conduct outreach to each veteran described 10 |
|---|
| 553 | 553 | | in paragraph (1) regarding the availability of con-11 |
|---|
| 554 | 554 | | sultations described in such paragraph and other 12 |
|---|
| 555 | 555 | | mental health services from the Department.’’; 13 |
|---|
| 556 | 556 | | (4) in subsection (c), as redesignated by para-14 |
|---|
| 557 | 557 | | graph (2), by inserting ‘‘or (b)’’ after ‘‘under sub-15 |
|---|
| 558 | 558 | | section (a)’’ both places it appears; and 16 |
|---|
| 559 | 559 | | (5) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para-17 |
|---|
| 560 | 560 | | graph (2), by inserting ‘‘or as requiring reevaluation 18 |
|---|
| 561 | 561 | | of any entitlement of the veteran to compensation 19 |
|---|
| 562 | 562 | | under this chapter’’ before the period at the end. 20 |
|---|
| 563 | 563 | | (c) B |
|---|
| 564 | 564 | | IENNIALREPORTS.—Such section, as amended 21 |
|---|
| 565 | 565 | | by subsection (b), is further amended by adding at the 22 |
|---|
| 566 | 566 | | end the following new subsection: 23 |
|---|
| 567 | 567 | | ‘‘(e) B |
|---|
| 568 | 568 | | IENNIALREVIEWS ANDREPORTS.—(1) Not 24 |
|---|
| 569 | 569 | | later than one year after the date of the enactment of the 25 |
|---|
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| 573 | 573 | | BRAVE Act of 2025, and not less frequently than once 1 |
|---|
| 574 | 574 | | every two years thereafter, the Secretary shall— 2 |
|---|
| 575 | 575 | | ‘‘(A) review the efficacy of the outreach of the 3 |
|---|
| 576 | 576 | | Department with respect to consultations offered 4 |
|---|
| 577 | 577 | | under this section; and 5 |
|---|
| 578 | 578 | | ‘‘(B) submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Af-6 |
|---|
| 579 | 579 | | fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ 7 |
|---|
| 580 | 580 | | Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 8 |
|---|
| 581 | 581 | | on— 9 |
|---|
| 582 | 582 | | ‘‘(i) the findings of the Secretary with re-10 |
|---|
| 583 | 583 | | spect to the most recent review conducted pur-11 |
|---|
| 584 | 584 | | suant to subparagraph (A); and 12 |
|---|
| 585 | 585 | | ‘‘(ii) the plans of the Secretary to address 13 |
|---|
| 586 | 586 | | the findings described in clause (i). 14 |
|---|
| 587 | 587 | | ‘‘(2) In order to facilitate reviews conducted under 15 |
|---|
| 588 | 588 | | paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall— 16 |
|---|
| 589 | 589 | | ‘‘(A) ensure veterans can provide feedback to 17 |
|---|
| 590 | 590 | | the Secretary on outreach described in paragraph 18 |
|---|
| 591 | 591 | | (1) and the consultations offered under this section; 19 |
|---|
| 592 | 592 | | and 20 |
|---|
| 593 | 593 | | ‘‘(B) analyze the feedback described in subpara-21 |
|---|
| 594 | 594 | | graph (A) that is provided to the Secretary. 22 |
|---|
| 595 | 595 | | ‘‘(3) Each review conducted pursuant to paragraph 23 |
|---|
| 596 | 596 | | (1)(A) shall cover the following: 24 |
|---|
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| 600 | 600 | | ‘‘(A) The feedback collected under paragraph 1 |
|---|
| 601 | 601 | | (2). 2 |
|---|
| 602 | 602 | | ‘‘(B) Consultations sought pursuant to offers 3 |
|---|
| 603 | 603 | | under this section. 4 |
|---|
| 604 | 604 | | ‘‘(C) Matters that deter veterans from seeking 5 |
|---|
| 605 | 605 | | consultations offered under this section.’’. 6 |
|---|
| 606 | 606 | | SEC. 404. JOINT REPORT ON EFFECTIVENESS OF PRO-7 |
|---|
| 607 | 607 | | GRAMS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-8 |
|---|
| 608 | 608 | | FAIRS AND DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE THAT 9 |
|---|
| 609 | 609 | | PROMOTE ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH 10 |
|---|
| 610 | 610 | | SERVICES FOR TRANSITIONING MEMBERS OF 11 |
|---|
| 611 | 611 | | THE ARMED FORCES. 12 |
|---|
| 612 | 612 | | (a) I |
|---|
| 613 | 613 | | NGENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 13 |
|---|
| 614 | 614 | | date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-14 |
|---|
| 615 | 615 | | erans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense shall jointly 15 |
|---|
| 616 | 616 | | submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen-16 |
|---|
| 617 | 617 | | ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 17 |
|---|
| 618 | 618 | | of Representatives a report on the actions taken or that 18 |
|---|
| 619 | 619 | | will be taken by each such Secretary, either independently 19 |
|---|
| 620 | 620 | | or jointly, to improve the effectiveness of programs of the 20 |
|---|
| 621 | 621 | | Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of 21 |
|---|
| 622 | 622 | | Defense that promote access to mental health services for 22 |
|---|
| 623 | 623 | | members of the Armed Forces transitioning from service 23 |
|---|
| 624 | 624 | | in the Armed Forces to civilian life. 24 |
|---|
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| 627 | 627 | | •S 609 IS |
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| 628 | 628 | | (b) STATUS OFRESPONSE TOCOMPTROLLERGEN-1 |
|---|
| 629 | 629 | | ERALRECOMMENDATIONS .—The report required under 2 |
|---|
| 630 | 630 | | subsection (a) shall include an assessment of the status 3 |
|---|
| 631 | 631 | | of the response by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and 4 |
|---|
| 632 | 632 | | the Secretary of Defense to the recommendations of the 5 |
|---|
| 633 | 633 | | Comptroller General of the United States set forth in the 6 |
|---|
| 634 | 634 | | July 2024 report entitled ‘‘DOD AND VA HEALTH 7 |
|---|
| 635 | 635 | | CARE: Actions Needed to Better Facilitate Access to 8 |
|---|
| 636 | 636 | | Mental Health Services During Military to Civilian Tran-9 |
|---|
| 637 | 637 | | sitions’’ (GAO–24–106189). 10 |
|---|
| 638 | 638 | | (c) I |
|---|
| 639 | 639 | | DENTIFICATION OF DUPLICATIVEEFFORTS.— 11 |
|---|
| 640 | 640 | | The report required under subsection (a) shall identify any 12 |
|---|
| 641 | 641 | | duplicative efforts or gaps in services and recommend 13 |
|---|
| 642 | 642 | | changes to programs of the Department of Veterans Af-14 |
|---|
| 643 | 643 | | fairs or the Department of Defense to address such dupli-15 |
|---|
| 644 | 644 | | cative efforts or gaps, including recommendations for leg-16 |
|---|
| 645 | 645 | | islative action. 17 |
|---|
| 646 | 646 | | Æ |
|---|
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