I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5440 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide financial assistance 

to eligible entities to provide and coordinate the provision of post-traumatic stress disorder prevention services for veterans through the award 

of grants to such entities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 16, 2019 

Mr. MEADOWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide financial assistance to eligible entities to provide and coordinate the provision of post-traumatic stress disorder prevention services for veterans through the award of grants 

to such entities, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Remembering the Life 

5 of Kyle Poteat Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO CERTAIN ENTITIES TO 

2 PROVIDE AND COORDINATE THE PROVISION 

3 OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER PRE4 VENTION SERVICES FOR VETERANS. 

5 (a) DISTRIBUTION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

6 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall provide financial as7 sistance to eligible entities approved under this section 

8 through the award of grants to such entities to provide 

9 and coordinate the provision of post-traumatic stress dis10 order prevention services to veterans. 

11 (b) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award a 

13 grant to each eligible entity for which the Secretary 

14 has approved an application under subsection (e) to 

15 provide or coordinate the provision of post-traumatic 

16 stress disorder prevention services under this sec17 tion. 

18 (2) GRANT AMOUNTS, INTERVALS OF PAY19 MENTS, AND MATCHING FUNDS.—In accordance with 

20 the services being provided under a grant under this 

21 section and the duration of those services, the Sec22 retary may establish— 

23 (A) a maximum amount to be awarded 

24 under the grant; 

25 (B) intervals of payment for the adminis26 tration of the grant; and 


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1 (C) a requirement for the recipient of the 

2 grant to provide matching funds in a specified 

3 percentage. 

4 (c) DISTRIBUTION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND

5 PREFERENCE.— 

6 (1) DISTRIBUTION.— 

7 (A) GEOGRAPHIC.—The Secretary shall 

8 ensure that, to the extent practicable and in 

9 compliance with subparagraph (B), financial as10 sistance under this section is equitably distrib11 uted across geographic regions, including rural 

12 communities and Tribal land. 

13 (B) AREAS WITH NEED.—The Secretary 

14 shall ensure that, to the extent practicable, fi15 nancial assistance under this section is distrib16 uted— 

17 (i) to provide services in areas of the 

18 United States that have experienced high 

19 rates of, or a high burden of, veteran post20 traumatic stress disorder; and 

21 (ii) to eligible entities that can assist 

22 veterans at risk of or who have post-trau23 matic stress disorder. 

24 (2) PREFERENCE.—The Secretary shall give 

25 preference in the provision of financial assistance 


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1 under this section to eligible entities providing or co2 ordinating, or who have demonstrated the ability to 

3 provide or coordinate, post-traumatic stress disorder 

4 prevention services. 

5 (d) REQUIREMENTS FOR RECEIPT OF FINANCIAL AS6 SISTANCE.— 

7 (1) NOTIFICATION THAT SERVICES ARE FROM

8 THE DEPARTMENT.—Each entity receiving financial 

9 assistance under this section to provide post-trau10 matic stress disorder prevention services to veterans 

11 shall notify the recipients of such services that such 

12 services are being paid for, in whole or in part, by 

13 the Department. 

14 (2) REPORTS.—The Secretary— 

15 (A) shall require each entity receiving fi16 nancial assistance under this section to submit 

17 to the Secretary an annual report that describes 

18 the projects carried out with such financial as19 sistance during the year covered by the report; 

20 (B) shall specify to each such entity the 

21 evaluation criteria and data and information to 

22 be submitted in such report; and 

23 (C) may require such entity to submit to 

24 the Secretary such additional reports as the 

25 Secretary considers appropriate. 


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1 (e) APPLICATION FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity seeking fi3 nancial assistance under this section shall submit to 

4 the Secretary an application therefor in such form, 

5 in such manner, and containing such commitments 

6 and information as the Secretary considers nec7 essary to carry out this section. 

8 (2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—Each applica9 tion submitted by an eligible entity under paragraph 

10 (1) shall contain the following: 

11 (A) A description of the post-traumatic 

12 stress disorder prevention services proposed to 

13 be provided by the eligible entity and the identi14 fied need for those services. 

15 (B) A detailed plan describing how the eli16 gible entity proposes to coordinate and deliver 

17 post-traumatic stress disorder prevention serv18 ices to veterans, including— 

19 (i) an identification of the community 

20 partners with which the eligible entity pro21 poses to work in delivering such services; 

22 (ii) a description of the arrangements 

23 currently in place between the eligible enti24 ty and such partners; and 


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1 (iii) an identification of how long such 

2 arrangements have been in place. 

3 (C) A description of the types of veterans 

4 at risk of post-traumatic stress disorder pro5 posed to be provided post-traumatic stress dis6 order prevention services. 

7 (D) An estimate of the number of veterans 

8 at risk of post-traumatic stress disorder pro9 posed to be provided post-traumatic stress dis10 order prevention services and the basis for such 

11 estimate, including the percentage of those vet12 erans who are not currently receiving care fur13 nished by the Department. 

14 (E) Evidence of the experience of the eligi15 ble entity (and the proposed partners of the en16 tity) in providing post-traumatic stress disorder 

17 prevention services to veterans. 

18 (F) A description of the managerial and 

19 technological capacity of the eligible entity— 

20 (i) to coordinate the provision of post21 traumatic stress disorder prevention serv22 ices with the provision of other services; 

23 (ii) to assess continuously the needs of 

24 veterans at risk of post-traumatic stress 


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1 disorder for post-traumatic stress disorder 

2 prevention services; 

3 (iii) to coordinate the provision of 

4 post-traumatic stress disorder prevention 

5 services with the services of the Depart6 ment for which the beneficiaries are eligi7 ble; 

8 (iv) to tailor post-traumatic stress dis9 order prevention services to the needs of 

10 veterans and veteran families; 

11 (v) to continuously seek new sources 

12 of assistance to ensure the continuity of 

13 post-traumatic stress disorder prevention 

14 services for veterans and veteran families 

15 for as long as the veteran is determined to 

16 be at risk of post-traumatic stress dis17 order; and 

18 (vi) to measure, over a period of time, 

19 the improved mental resiliency and mental 

20 outlook of the veteran served. 

21 (G) Such additional application criteria as 

22 the Secretary considers appropriate. 

23 (f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

25 training and technical assistance to eligible entities 


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1 in receipt of financial assistance under this section 

2 regarding— 

3 (A) the data required to be collected and 

4 shared with the Department; 

5 (B) the means of data collection and shar6 ing; 

7 (C) familiarization with and appropriate 

8 use of any tool to be used to measure the effec9 tiveness of the use of the financial assistance 

10 provided; and 

11 (D) the requirements for reporting under 

12 subsection (d) on services provided via such fi13 nancial assistance. 

14 (2) PROVISION OF TRAINING AND TECHNICAL

15 ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may provide the train16 ing and technical assistance described in paragraph 

17 (1) directly or through grants or contracts with ap18 propriate public or nonprofit entities. 

19 (g) ADMINISTRATION OF GRANT PROGRAM.— 

20 (1) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary, in 

21 consultation with entities specified in paragraph (3), 

22 shall establish criteria for the selection of eligible en23 tities that have submitted applications under sub24 section (e). 


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1 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF MEASURES AND

2 METRICS.—The Secretary shall develop, in consulta3 tion with entities specified in paragraph (3), the fol4 lowing: 

5 (A) A framework for collecting and sharing 

6 information about entities in receipt of financial 

7 assistance under this section for purposes of 

8 improving the discovery of services available for 

9 veterans at risk of post-traumatic stress dis10 order, set forth by service type, locality, and eli11 gibility criteria. 

12 (B) The measures to be used by each enti13 ty in receipt of financial assistance under this 

14 section to determine the effectiveness of the 

15 programming being provided by such entity in 

16 improving mental resiliency and mental outlook 

17 of veterans at risk of post-traumatic stress dis18 order. 

19 (C) Metrics for measuring the effectiveness 

20 of the provision of financial assistance under 

21 this section. 

22 (3) COORDINATION.—In developing a plan for 

23 the design and implementation of the provision of fi24 nancial assistance under this section, including criVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5440.IH H5440

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1 teria for the award of grants, the Secretary shall 

2 consult with the following: 

3 (A) Veterans service organizations. 

4 (B) National organizations representing 

5 potential community partners of eligible entities 

6 in providing supportive services to address the 

7 needs of veterans at risk of post-traumatic 

8 stress disorder, including national organizations 

9 that— 

10 (i) advocate for the needs of individ11 uals with or at risk of behavioral health 

12 conditions; 

13 (ii) represent mayors; 

14 (iii) represent religious or faith lead15 ers; 

16 (iv) represent first responders; or 

17 (v) represent chiefs of police and sher18 iffs. 

19 (C) Organizations with which the Depart20 ment has a current memoranda of agreement or 

21 understanding related to mental health or post22 traumatic stress disorder. 

23 (D) State departments of veterans affairs. 


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1 (E) National organizations representing 

2 members of the reserve components of the 

3 Armed Forces. 

4 (F) Vet Centers. 

5 (G) Organizations with experience in cre6 ating measurement tools for purposes of deter7 mining programmatic effectiveness. 

8 (H) Such other organizations as the Sec9 retary considers appropriate. 

10 (4) REPORT ON GRANT CRITERIA.—Before noti11 fying eligible entities of the availability of funding 

12 under this section, the Secretary shall submit to 

13 Congress a report containing— 

14 (A) criteria for the award of a grant under 

15 this section; 

16 (B) the tool to be used by the Department 

17 to measure the effectiveness of the use of finan18 cial assistance provided under this section; and 

19 (C) a framework for the sharing of infor20 mation about entities in receipt of financial as21 sistance under this section. 

22 (h) INFORMATION ON POTENTIAL BENEFICIARIES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 

24 available to recipients of financial assistance under 

25 this section certain information regarding potential 


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1 beneficiaries of services for which such financial as2 sistance is provided. 

3 (2) INFORMATION INCLUDED.—The information 

4 made available under paragraph (1) with respect to 

5 potential beneficiaries may include the following: 

6 (A) Confirmation of the status of a poten7 tial beneficiary as a veteran. 

8 (B) Confirmation of whether a potential 

9 beneficiary is currently receiving care furnished 

10 by the Department or has recently received 

11 such care. 

12 (i) DURATION.—The authority of the Secretary to 

13 provide financial assistance under this section shall termi14 nate on the date that is three years after the date on which 

15 the first grant is awarded under this section. 

16 (j) REPORTING.— 

17 (1) INTERIM REPORT.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 

19 months after the date on which the first grant 

20 is awarded under this section, the Secretary 

21 shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

22 Congress a report on the provision of financial 

23 assistance under this section. 


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1 (B) ELEMENTS..—The report submitted 

2 under subparagraph (A) shall include the fol3 lowing: 

4 (i) An assessment of the effectiveness 

5 of the provision of financial assistance 

6 under this section, including the effective7 ness of community partners in conducting 

8 outreach to veterans at risk of post-trau9 matic stress disorder. 

10 (ii) A list of grant recipients and their 

11 partner organizations that delivered serv12 ices funded by the grant and the amount 

13 of such grant received by each recipient 

14 and partner organization. 

15 (iii) The number of veterans sup16 ported by each grant recipient, including 

17 through services provided to family mem18 bers. 

19 (iv) The number of veterans sup20 ported by financial assistance under this 

21 section, including through services provided 

22 to family members. 

23 (v) The number of veterans supported 

24 by financial assistance under this section, 

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1 ily members, who were not previously re2 ceiving care furnished by the Department. 

3 (vi) The number of veterans whose 

4 mental resiliency and mental outlook re5 ceived a baseline measurement assessment 

6 under this section and the number of such 

7 veterans whose mental resiliency and men8 tal outlook will be measured by the De9 partment or a community partner over a 

10 period of time. 

11 (vii) The types of data the Depart12 ment was able to collect and share with 

13 partners, including a characterization of 

14 the benefits of that data. 

15 (2) FINIAL REPORT.—Not later than three 

16 years after the date on which the first grant is 

17 awarded under this section, the Secretary shall sub18 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress— 

19 (A) a follow-up on the interim report sub20 mitted under paragraph (1) containing the ele21 ments set forth in subparagraph (B) of such 

22 paragraph; and 

23 (B) a report on— 

24 (i) the effectiveness of the provision of 

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1 cluding the effectiveness of community 

2 partners in conducting outreach and edu3 cation to veterans at risk of post-traumatic 

4 stress disorder; 

5 (ii) an assessment of the increased ca6 pacity of the Department to provide serv7 ices to veterans at risk of post-traumatic 

8 stress disorder, set forth by State, as a re9 sult of the provision of financial assistance 

10 under this section; and 

11 (iii) the feasibility and advisability of 

12 extending or expanding the provision of fi13 nancial assistance under this section. 

14 (k) SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES OF VETERANS.—Section 

15 7309A of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (d) by adding at the end the 

17 following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(15) To support family caregivers, acting in 

19 consultation with the veteran and family advisor, by 

20 sharing information with such family caregivers 

21 about the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) The rights and responsibilities of a 

23 veteran as a patient receiving health care. 

24 ‘‘(B) The benefits, services, and treatments 

25 available to a veteran. 


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1 ‘‘(C) How an external advocate helps a vet2 eran based upon the specific needs of such vet3 eran, including by providing support, resources, 

4 and personalized case management to meet 

5 such needs.’’; and 

6 (2) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) The term ‘family caregiver’ has the mean10 ing given that term in section 1720G(d). 

11 ‘‘(2) The term ‘controlled substance’ has the 

12 meaning given that term in section 102 of the Con13 trolled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802). 

14 ‘‘(3) The term ‘external advocate’ has the 

15 meaning given that term in Veterans Health Admin16 istration directive 1003.04 (or any successor direc17 tive). 

18 ‘‘(4) The term ‘veteran and family advisor’ has 

19 the meaning given the term ‘Veteran/Family Advi20 sor’ in Veterans Health Administration directive 

21 1003.04 (or any successor directive).’’. 

22 (l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON24 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con25 gress’’ means— 


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1 (A) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

2 and the Subcommittee on Military Construc3 tion, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies of 

4 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; 

5 and 

6 (B) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

7 and the Subcommittee on Military Construc8 tion, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies of 

9 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

10 of Representatives. 

11 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti12 ty’’ means— 

13 (A) an incorporated private institution or 

14 foundation— 

15 (i) no part of the net earnings of 

16 which incurs to the benefit of any member, 

17 founder, contributor, or individual; 

18 (ii) that has a governing board that 

19 would be responsible for the operation of 

20 the post-traumatic stress disorder preven21 tion services provided under this section; 

22 and 

23 (iii) that is approved by the Secretary 

24 as to financial responsibility; 


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1 (B) a corporation wholly owned and con2 trolled by an organization meeting the require3 ments of clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of subpara4 graph (A); 

5 (C) a tribally designated housing entity (as 

6 defined in section 4 of the Native American 

7 Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 

8 of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103)); or 

9 (D) a community-based organization that 

10 is physically based in the targeted community 

11 and that can effectively network with local civic 

12 organizations, regional health systems, and 

13 other settings where veterans at risk of post14 traumatic stress disorder are likely to have con15 tact. 

16 (3) PEER SPECIALIST.—The term ‘‘peer spe17 cialist’’ means a person eligible to be appointed as 

18 a peer specialist under section 7402(b)(13) of title 

19 38, United States Code. 

20 (4) RISK OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DIS21 ORDER.—The term ‘‘risk of post-traumatic stress 

22 disorder’’ means exposure to or the existence of any 

23 of the following: 

24 (A) Health risk factors, including the fol25 lowing: 


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1 (i) Mental health challenges. 

2 (ii) Substance abuse. 

3 (iii) Serious or chronic health condi4 tions or pain. 

5 (iv) Traumatic brain injury. 

6 (B) Environmental risk factors, including 

7 the following: 

8 (i) Access to lethal means (such as 

9 drugs, firearms, etc.). 

10 (ii) Prolonged stress. 

11 (iii) Stressful life events. 

12 (iv) Exposure to the suicide of an13 other person or to graphic or sensational14 ized accounts of suicide. 

15 (v) Unemployment. 

16 (vi) Homelessness. 

17 (vii) Recent loss. 

18 (viii) Legal or financial challenges. 

19 (C) Historical risk factors, including the 

20 following: 

21 (i) Previous suicide attempts. 

22 (ii) Family history of suicide. 

23 (iii) History of abuse, neglect, or trau24 ma. 


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1 (5) POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER PRE2 VENTION SERVICES.—The term ‘‘post-traumatic 

3 stress disorder services’’ means services to address 

4 the needs of veterans at risk of post-traumatic stress 

5 disorder and includes the following: 

6 (A) Outreach to identify veterans at risk of 

7 post-traumatic stress disorder, with an empha8 sis on veterans who are at highest risk or not 

9 receiving health care or other services furnished 

10 by the Department. 

11 (B) A baseline mental health assessment 

12 for risk screening and referral to care. 

13 (C) Education on post-traumatic stress 

14 disorder and how to care for individuals with it 

15 and peer support to families and communities. 

16 (D) Direct treatment. 

17 (E) Medication management. 

18 (F) Individual and group therapy. 

19 (G) Case management services. 

20 (H) Peer support services. 

21 (I) Assistance in obtaining any benefits 

22 from the Department that the veteran at risk of 

23 post-traumatic stress disorder or veteran family 

24 may be eligible to receive, including— 


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1 (i) vocational and rehabilitation coun2 seling; 

3 (ii) supportive services for homeless 

4 veterans; 

5 (iii) employment and training services; 

6 (iv) educational assistance; and 

7 (v) health care services. 

8 (J) Assistance in obtaining and coordi9 nating the provision of other benefits provided 

10 by the Federal Government, a State or local 

11 government, or an eligible entity. 

12 (K) Temporary cash assistance (not to ex13 ceed 6 months) to assist with emergent needs 

14 relating to— 

15 (i) health care services; 

16 (ii) daily living services; 

17 (iii) personal financial planning; 

18 (iv) transportation services; 

19 (v) temporary income support serv20 ices; 

21 (vi) fiduciary and representative payee 

22 services; 

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1 tribute to the risk of post-traumatic stress 

2 disorder of the veteran; and 

3 (viii) child care (not to exceed $5,000 

4 per veteran family per fiscal year). 

5 (L) Such other services necessary for im6 proving the resiliency of veterans at risk of 

7 post-traumatic stress disorder and veteran fam8 ilies as the Secretary considers appropriate, 

9 which may include— 

10 (i) adaptive sports or in-place rec11 reational therapy; 

12 (ii) substance use reduction program13 ming; 

14 (iii) individual, group, or family coun15 seling; and 

16 (iv) relationship coaching. 

17 (6) VET CENTER.—The term ‘‘Vet Center’’ 

18 means a center for readjustment counseling and re19 lated mental health services for veterans under sec20 tion 1712A of title 38, United States Code. 

21 (7) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the 

22 meaning given that term in section 101 of title 38, 

23 United States Code. 


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1 (8) VETERAN FAMILY.—The term ‘‘veteran 

2 family’’ means, with respect to a veteran at risk of 

3 post-traumatic stress disorder, any of the following: 

4 (A) A parent. 

5 (B) A spouse. 

6 (C) A child. 

7 (D) A sibling. 

8 (E) A step-family member. 

9 (F) An extended family member. 

10 (G) Any other individual who lives with the 

11 veteran. 

12 (9) VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATION.—The 

13 term ‘‘veterans service organization’’ means any or14 ganization recognized by the Secretary of Veterans 

15 Affairs for the representation of veterans included as 

16 part of the annually updated list at https:// 

17 www.va.gov/vso/ or a successor website. 

Æ 


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