The following congressional bills were introduced to improve the lives of military and veterans in regards of mental health treatment and suicide among our military and veterans. Don’t forget to contact your elected officials if you believe any of these bills would positively affect your life and the lives of others.
H.R. 1123 – Veteran Suicide Prevention Act. Introduced by Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY-2) on February 18, 2021. This bill is to to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a review of the deaths of certain veterans who died by suicide, and for other purposes. This report includes many different variables, this also only includes “covered veterans’ which is any veteran who received hospital care or medical services furnished by the VA. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1123/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22veteran+suicide%22%2C%22veteran%22%2C%22suicide%22%5D%7D&r=1&s=3
H.R. 67 – Veteran Overmedication and Suicide Prevention Act of 2021. Introduced by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-F-16) on January 4, 2021. This bill is to o direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct an independent review of the deaths of certain veterans by suicide, and for other purposes. This bill would require an evaluation of care on the veterans which includes medication and non-medication treatments. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/67/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22veteran+suicide%22%2C%22veteran%22%2C%22suicide%22%5D%7D&s=3&r=2&overview=open#content
S. 1296/H.R. 2778 – Daniel J. Harvey Jr. and Adam Lambert Improving Servicemember Transition to Reduce Veteran Suicide Act. Introduced by Sen. Sherrod Brown & Rep. Anthony Gonzalez. This bill is to To require a pilot program on activities under the transition assistance program for a reduction in suicide among veterans. This program would be a joint DoD and VA program, which would include in-person meetings with a social worker. It must include no fewer than 10 bases, and 300 people, it sounds very small. The data keeping would also keep a log about mental health status for the veteran. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/1296/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22veteran+suicide%22%2C%22veteran%22%2C%22suicide%22%5D%7D&s=3&r=3&overview=open#content https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2778/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22veteran+suicide%22%2C%22veteran%22%2C%22suicide%22%5D%7D&s=3&r=4&overview=open#content
S. 2811/H.R. 5352 – Military Suicide Prevention in the 21st Century Act. Introduced by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) & Rep. David Joyce (R-OH-14). This bill is to direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a pilot program to pre-program suicide prevention resources into smart devices issued to members of the Armed Forces. This is about establishing an app from the Defense Health Agency where service members can access as part as suicide awareness and training. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/2811/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22veteran+suicide%22%2C%22veteran%22%2C%22suicide%22%5D%7D&s=3&r=6&overview=open#content https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/2811/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22veteran+suicide%22%2C%22veteran%22%2C%22suicide%22%5D%7D&s=3&r=6&overview=open#content
H.R. 3405 – Battle Buddy Check Week. Introduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18) on May 20, 2021. This bill is to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate a week as “Battle Buddy Check Week” for the purpose of outreach and education concerning peer wellness checks for veterans, and for other purposes. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3405/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22veteran+suicide%22%2C%22veteran%22%2C%22suicide%22%5D%7D&s=3&r=8&overview=open#content
S. 2405/H.R. 4601 – REACH for Veterans Act. Introduced by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) & Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-NY-19) on June 24, 2021. This bill is to improve the Veterans Crisis Line of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. This bill would review the training for veteran crisis line operators, set retraining guidelines, provide training specifically for high risk callers, set quality review and management practices, and require a report on “annual common cause analysis for callers who die by suicide.” https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/2283/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22veteran+suicide%22%2C%22veteran%22%2C%22suicide%22%5D%7D&s=3&r=9&overview=open#content https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5073?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22veteran+suicide%22%2C%22veteran%22%2C%22suicide%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=26&overview=open#content