H. R. 2441 

One Hundred Seventeenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE FIRST SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Sunday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-one 

An Act 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to expand the Rural Access Network 

for Growth Enhancement Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and 

to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study to 

assess certain mental health care resources of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

available to veterans who live in rural areas. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sgt. Ketchum Rural Veterans 

Mental Health Act of 2021’’. 

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF RURAL ACCESS NETWORK FOR GROWTH 

ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

(a) EXPANSION.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish and maintain three new centers of the RANGE Program. 

(b) LOCATIONS.—The centers established under subsection (a) 

shall be located in areas determined by the Secretary based on— 

(1) the need for additional mental health care for rural 

veterans in such areas; and 

(2) interest expressed by personnel at facilities of the 

Department in such areas. 

(c) TIMELINE.—The Secretary shall establish the centers under 

subsection (a) during fiscal year 2022. 

(d) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appropriated $1,200,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2024 to carry 

out this section. 

SEC. 3. GAO STUDY OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE FURNISHED BY THE 

SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO RURAL VETERANS. 

(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General of the United 

States shall conduct a study to assess whether the Department 

of Veterans Affairs has sufficient resources to serve rural veterans 

who need covered mental health care. Such study shall include 

assessments of— 

(1) whether the mental health care furnished by the Secretary (through resources including the RANGE Program, 

Enhanced RANGE Program, mental health residential 

rehabilitation treatment programs, inpatient mental health 

services, and PRR centers) is sufficient to meet the covered 

mental health care needs of rural veterans; 

(2) how best to expand and to appropriately locate resources 

described in paragraph (1); 
H. R. 2441—2 

(3) whether to require the establishment of a PRR center 

at a medical facility of the Department that serves 1,000 or 

more veterans on the National Psychosis Registry; 

(4) the demand by rural veterans for mental health 

resources specified in paragraph (1); 

(5) the average wait time for a rural veteran for mental 

health resources specified in paragraph (1); and 

(6) how many rural veterans died by suicide or overdose— 

(A) while on a wait list for mental health resources 

specified in paragraph (1); and 

(B) during the term of the study. 

(b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 18 months after the 

date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

House of Representatives a report containing the results of the 

study under this section. 

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act: 

(1) The term ‘‘covered mental health care’’ means mental 

health care that is more intensive than traditional outpatient 

therapy. 

(2) The term ‘‘PRR center’’ means a psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery center of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

(3) The term ‘‘RANGE Program’’ means the Rural Access 

Network for Growth Enhancement Program of the Department 

of Veterans Affairs. 

(4) The term ‘‘rural veteran’’ means a veteran who lives 

in a rural or highly rural area (including such an area in 

a Tribal or insular area), as determined through the use of 

the Rural-Urban Commuting Areas coding system of the 

Department of Agriculture. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.