II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1429 

To establish a commission on veterans and members of the Armed Forces 

with post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, or other 

mental health disorders, to enhance the capacity of mental health care 

providers to assist such veterans and members, to ensure such veterans 

are not discriminated against, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 9, 2009 

Mr. WYDEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish a commission on veterans and members of the 

Armed Forces with post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, or other mental health disorders, 

to enhance the capacity of mental health care providers 

to assist such veterans and members, to ensure such 

veterans are not discriminated against, 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 ‘‘Servicemembers Men5 tal Health Care Commission Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Since October 2001, approximately 

4 1,640,000 members of the Armed Forces have been 

5 deployed as part of Operation Enduring Freedom or 

6 Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

7 (2) 300,000 members of the Armed Forces are 

8 suffering from major depression or post traumatic 

9 stress because of service in Operation Enduring 

10 Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

11 (3) 320,000 of the members of the Armed 

12 Forces who served in Operation Enduring Freedom 

13 or Operation Iraqi Freedom, or 19 percent of such 

14 members, have received brain injuries from such 

15 service. 

16 (4) Only 43 percent of members of the Armed 

17 Forces with a probable traumatic brain injury have 

18 reported receiving a medical evaluation for their 

19 head injury. 

20 (5) Records of the Department of Veterans Af21 fairs show that 120,000 members of the Armed 

22 Forces who are no longer on active duty have been 

23 diagnosed with mental health problems, approxi24 mately half of whom suffer from post traumatic 

25 stress disorder (PTSD). 


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1 (6) In the last year, only 53 percent of those 

2 members of the Armed Forces with post traumatic 

3 stress disorder or depression have sought profes4 sional help from a mental health care provider. 

5 (7) Rates of post traumatic stress disorder and 

6 depression are highest among members of the 

7 Armed Forces who are women or members of the 

8 Reserves. 

9 (8) Efforts to improve access to quality mental 

10 health care are integral to supporting and treating 

11 both active duty members of the Armed Forces and 

12 veterans. 

13 (9) Without quality mental health care, mem14 bers of the Armed Forces and veterans may experi15 ence lower work productivity, which negatively af16 fects their physical health, mental health, and family 

17 and social relationships. 

18 (10) Cultural and personal stigmas are factors 

19 that contribute to low rates of veterans of Operation 

20 Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom 

21 who seek mental health care from qualified mental 

22 health care providers. 

23 (11) The capacity of mental health care pro24 viders and access to such providers must be im25 proved to meet the needs of members of the Armed 


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1 Forces who are returning from deployment in Oper2 ation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Free3 dom. 

4 (12) Community-based providers of mental 

5 health care are invaluable assets in addressing the 

6 needs of such members and should not be over7 looked. 

8 (13) Coordination of care among government 

9 agencies as well as nongovernmental agencies is inte10 gral to the successful treatment of members of the 

11 Armed Forces returning from deployment. 

12 SEC. 3. COMMISSION ON VETERANS AND MEMBERS OF THE 

13 ARMED FORCES WITH POST TRAUMATIC 

14 STRESS DISORDER, TRAUMATIC BRAIN IN15 JURY, OR OTHER MENTAL HEALTH DIS16 ORDERS CAUSED BY SERVICE IN THE ARMED 

17 FORCES. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.—There is es19 tablished a commission on veterans and members of the 

20 Armed Forces with post traumatic stress disorder, trau21 matic brain injury, or other mental health disorders 

22 caused by service in the Armed Forces. 

23 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The commission shall be 

25 composed of a chair and 11 other members who 


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1 shall be appointed jointly by the Secretary of Vet2 erans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense. 

3 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the 

4 commission under paragraph (1) shall include at 

5 least one of each of the following: 

6 (A) Members of the Armed Forces on ac7 tive duty. 

8 (B) Veterans who are retired from the 

9 Armed Forces. 

10 (C) Employees of the Department of Vet11 erans Affairs. 

12 (D) Employees of the Department of De13 fense. 

14 (E) Recognized medical or scientific au15 thorities in fields relevant to the commission, 

16 including psychiatry and medical care. 

17 (F) Mental health professionals who are 

18 not physicians. 

19 (G) Veterans who have undergone treat20 ment for post traumatic stress disorder, trau21 matic brain injury, or other mental health dis22 orders. 

23 (3) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

24 In appointing members of the commission, the Sec25 retary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of DeVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:08 Jul 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1429.IS S1429

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1 fense shall consult with nongovernmental organiza2 tions that represent veterans, members of the Armed 

3 Forces, and families of such veterans and members. 

4 (c) DUTIES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The commission shall— 

6 (A) oversee the monitoring and treatment 

7 of veterans and members of the Armed Forces 

8 with post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic 

9 brain injury, and other mental health disorders 

10 caused by service in the Armed Forces; and 

11 (B) conduct a thorough study of all mat12 ters relating to the long-term adverse con13 sequences of such disorders for such veterans 

14 and members, including an analysis of— 

15 (i) the information gathered from re16 screening data obtained from post deploy17 ment interviews; 

18 (ii) treatments that have been shown 

19 to be effective in the treatment of post 

20 traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain 

21 injury, or other mental health disorders 

22 caused by service in the Armed Forces; 

23 (iii) the effects on the military career 

24 of members of the Armed Forces of seek25 ing mental health counseling or care, inVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:08 Jul 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1429.IS S1429

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1 cluding effects on duty assignments and 

2 promotion potential; and 

3 (iv) the continuity and effectiveness of 

4 mental health care provided individuals 

5 during their transition from receipt of care 

6 and services through the Department of 

7 Defense to receipt of care and services 

8 through the Department of Veterans Af9 fairs. 

10 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The commission 

11 shall develop recommendations on the development 

12 of initiatives— 

13 (A) to mitigate the adverse consequences 

14 studied under paragraph (1)(B); and 

15 (B) to reduce cultural and professional 

16 stigmas associated with treatment of post trau17 matic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, or 

18 other mental health disorders of veterans and 

19 members of the Armed Forces. 

20 (3) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than Sep21 tember 30 each year, the commission shall submit to 

22 the appropriate committees of Congress a report 

23 containing the following: 


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1 (A) A detailed statement of the findings 

2 and conclusions of the commission as a result 

3 of its activities under paragraph (1). 

4 (B) The recommendations of the commis5 sion developed under paragraph (2). 

6 (d) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

7 (1) SITE VISITS.—The commission may visit lo8 cations where veterans and members of the Armed 

9 Forces with post traumatic stress disorder, trau10 matic brain injury, or other mental health disorders 

11 caused by service in the Armed Forces receive treat12 ment for such disorders to carry out the oversight 

13 and monitoring required by subsection (c)(1)(A). 

14 (2) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

15 The commission may secure directly from any Fed16 eral department or agency such information as the 

17 commission considers necessary to carry out the pro18 visions of this Act. Upon request of the chair of the 

19 commission, the head of such department or agency 

20 shall furnish such information to the commission. 

21 (3) SOLICITATION OF TESTIMONY.—The com22 mission may request testimony from members of the 

23 Armed Forces, veterans, caregivers, and other 

24 sources in a manner intended not to interfere with 


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1 the career development of the individual providing 

2 such testimony. 

3 (e) TERMINATION.—The commission shall be termi4 nated jointly by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the 

5 Secretary of Defense, at the joint discretion of the Secre6 taries. 

7 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 (1) FISCAL YEAR 2010.—There is authorized to 

9 be appropriated for fiscal year 2010 to carry out 

10 this section, $1,000,000. 

11 (2) SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS.—There is au12 thorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year after 

13 fiscal year 2010 such sums as may be necessary to 

14 carry out this section in such fiscal year. 

15 (g) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE16 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate commit17 tees of Congress’’ means— 

18 (1) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

19 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate; and 

20 (2) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

21 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

22 Representatives. 

Æ 


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