I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8125 

To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a pilot program to preprogram suicide prevention resources into smart devices issued to members of the Armed Forces. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 28, 2020 

Mr. JOYCE of Ohio (for himself, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, and 

Mr. CISNEROS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

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. 

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 ‘‘Military Suicide Pre5 vention in the 21st Century Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Although personal electronic devices, such 

9 as mobile phones, computers, and tablets, increasVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Sep 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8125.IH H8125

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1 ingly are being leveraged as vehicles for health in the 

2 civilian world, almost nothing is known about per3 sonal technology use among members of the Armed 

4 Forces. 

5 (2) The Defense Health Agency created the 

6 Virtual Hope Box application to help members of 

7 the Armed Forces build resilience. 

8 (3) Users of the Virtual Hope Box application 

9 reported significantly greater ability to cope with un10 pleasant emotions and thoughts. 

11 (4) Members of the Armed Forces who are be12 havioral health patients experiencing distress, emo13 tional dysregulation, or suicidal ideation are often 

14 separated from direct clinical support when they 

15 need it. 

16 (5) The Virtual Hope Box application offers a 

17 highly portable, accessible, and discreet tool for ef18 fectively increasing coping self-efficacy. 

19 (6) A strongly linked chain of care depends on 

20 engaged leaders as well as highly competent first re21 sponders, crisis hotline workers, emergency depart22 ment personnel, chaplains, primary care clinicians, 

23 and behavioral health clinicians. 


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1 SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM ON PRE-PROGRAMMING OF SUI2 CIDE PREVENTION RESOURCES INTO SMART 

3 DEVICES ISSUED TO MEMBERS OF THE 

4 ARMED FORCES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Commencing not later than 120 

6 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec7 retary of Defense shall carry out a pilot program under 

8 which the Secretary— 

9 (1) pre-downloads the Virtual Hope Box appli10 cation of the Defense Health Agency, or successor 

11 application, on smart devices individually issued to 

12 members of the Armed Forces; 

13 (2) pre-programs the National Suicide Hotline 

14 number and Veterans Crisis Line number into the 

15 contacts for such devices; and 

16 (3) provides training, as part of training on sui17 cide awareness and prevention conducted throughout 

18 the Department of Defense, on the preventative re19 sources described in paragraphs (1) and (2). 

20 (b) DURATION.—The Secretary shall carry out the 

21 pilot program under this section for a two-year period. 

22 (c) SCOPE.—The Secretary shall determine the ap23 propriate scope of individuals participating in the pilot 

24 program under this section to best represent each Armed 

25 Force and to ensure a relevant sample size. 


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1 (d) IDENTIFICATION OF OTHER RESOURCES.—In 

2 carrying out the pilot program under this section, the Sec3 retary shall coordinate with the Director of the Defense 

4 Health Agency and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to 

5 identify other useful technology-related resources for use 

6 in the pilot program. 

7 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after com8 pleting the pilot program under this section, the Secretary 

9 shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the 

10 Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the 

11 House of Representatives a report on the pilot program. 

12 (f) VETERANS CRISIS LINE DEFINED.—In this sec13 tion, the term ‘‘Veterans Crisis Line’’ means the toll-free 

14 hotline for veterans established under section 1720F(h) of 

15 title 38, United States Code. 

Æ 


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