II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2351 

To provide additional funding for mental health care for veterans, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 1, 2006 

Mrs. BOXER (for herself, Mr. KENNEDY, and Mr. DAYTON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide additional funding for mental health care for 

veterans, 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. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) More than one in three soldiers and Ma6 rines who have served in Iraq later sought help for 

7 mental health problems, according to an Army re8 port published in the Journal of the American Med9 ical Association. 


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1 (2) Of the members of the Armed Forces who 

2 separated from military service after deployment to 

3 Afghanistan and Iraq, 28 percent have enrolled in 

4 health care programs administered by the Depart5 ment of Veterans Affairs. A higher percentage of 

6 former members of the regular components of the 

7 Armed Forces (31 percent) have enrolled in such 

8 health care than have former members of the Na9 tional Guard and Reserves (25 percent). 

10 (3) Between 2002 and 2005, almost 19,000 

11 veterans of military service in Afghanistan and Iraq 

12 were treated for post-traumatic stress disorder 

13 (PTSD) through programs administered by the De14 partment of Veterans Affairs. 

15 (4) According to the results of the first com16 prehensive screening of veterans from the war in 

17 Iraq, conducted by the Army Center for Health Pro18 motion and Preventive Medicine, almost 1,700 mem19 bers of the Armed Forces returning from the war 

20 said that they harbored thoughts of hurting them21 selves or that they would be better off dead. More 

22 than 250 said that they had such thoughts ‘‘a lot’’. 

23 Nearly 20,000 such members reported nightmares or 

24 unwanted war recollections, and more than 3,700 


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1 such members said they had concerns that they 

2 might ‘‘hurt or lose control’’ with someone else. 

3 (5) A study published in the July 2004 New 

4 England Journal of Medicine revealed that 15.6 per5 cent of Marines and 17.1 percent of soldiers sur6 veyed after deployment in Iraq ‘‘met the screening 

7 criteria for major depression, generalized anxiety, or 

8 [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)]’’. 

9 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Depart11 ment of Veterans Affairs for the Veterans Health Admin12 istration for Medical Services for mental health care 

13 amounts that are not less than the following: 

14 (1) $3,600,000,000 in fiscal year 2007. 

15 (2) $4,100,000,000 in fiscal year 2008. 

16 (3) $4,600,000,000 in fiscal year 2009. 

17 (4) $5,100,000,000 in fiscal year 2010. 

18 (5) $5,600,000,000 in fiscal year 2011. 

19 SEC. 3. ANNUAL REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF NA20 TIONAL MENTAL HEALTH STRATEGIC PLAN. 

21 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 17 of title 38, 

23 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

24 section 1704 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 1704A. Mental health services: annual report on 

2 implementation of national strategic plan 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Not later than April 15 each 

4 year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Vet5 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives 

6 a report that describes the progress of the Department 

7 in meeting each milestone specified in the national mental 

8 health strategic plan of the Department. 

9 ‘‘(2) Each report under this subsection shall set 

10 forth, for each milestone covered by such report, the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(A) The amount of funds expended during the 

13 fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which such 

14 report is submitted to meet such milestone. 

15 ‘‘(B) A description of the extent to which such 

16 milestone is based on the adoption by the Secretary 

17 of the recommendations of the President’s new Free18 dom Commission on Mental Health. 

19 ‘‘(b) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT.—Each report sub20 mitted under subsection (a) shall include an independent 

21 assessment of the progress of the Department in imple22 menting the milestones described in that subsection. The 

23 independent assessment shall be made by the Special 

24 Committee on Veterans with Serious Mental Illness, the 

25 Special Committee on Veterans with PTSD, and the Advi26 sory Committee on Homeless Veterans.’’. 


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1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec2 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

3 by inserting after the item relating to section 1704 

4 the following new item: 

‘‘1704A. Mental health services: annual report on implementation of national strategic plan.’’. 

5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

6 this section shall take effect on December 15, 2006. 

Æ 


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