II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2174 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a study on the 

Veterans Crisis Line. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 30, 2017 

Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Mr. DONNELLY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a 

study on the Veterans Crisis Line. 

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 ‘‘Veterans Crisis Line 

5 Study Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STUDY ON EFFICACY OF VETERANS CRISIS LINE. 

7 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

8 conduct a study on the outcomes and the efficacy of the 

9 Veterans Crisis Line during the five-year period beginning 


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1 January 1, 2014, based on an analysis of national suicide 

2 data and data collected from the Veterans Crisis Line. 

3 (b) MATTERS INCLUDED.—The study under sub4 section (a) shall address the following: 

5 (1) The efficacy of the Veterans Crisis Line in 

6 leading veterans to sustained mental health regi7 mens, by determining— 

8 (A) the number of veterans who, after con9 tacting the Veterans Crisis Line and being re10 ferred to a suicide prevention specialist, begin 

11 and continue mental health care furnished by 

12 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and 

13 (B) the number of veterans who, after con14 tacting the Veterans Crisis Line and being re15 ferred to a suicide prevention specialist, ei16 ther— 

17 (i) begin mental health care furnished 

18 by the Secretary but do not continue such 

19 care; or 

20 (ii) do not begin such care. 

21 (2) The visibility of the Veterans Crisis Line, 

22 by determining— 

23 (A) the number of veterans who contact 

24 the Veterans Crisis Line and have not preVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:32 Dec 01, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2174.IS S2174

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1 viously received hospital care or medical serv2 ices furnished by the Secretary; and 

3 (B) the number of veterans who contact 

4 the Veterans Crisis Line and have previously 

5 received hospital care or medical services fur6 nished by the Secretary. 

7 (3) The role of the Veterans Crisis Line as part 

8 of the mental health care services of the Depart9 ment, by determining, of the veterans who are en10 rolled in the health care system established under 

11 section 1705(a) of title 38, United States Code, who 

12 contact the Veterans Crisis Line, the number who 

13 are under the care of a mental health care provider 

14 of the Department at the time of such contact. 

15 (4) Whether receiving sustained mental health 

16 care affects suicidality and whether veterans pre17 viously receiving mental health care furnished by the 

18 Secretary use the Veterans Crisis Line in times of 

19 crisis, with respect to the veterans described in para20 graph (3), by determining the time frame between 

21 receiving such care and the time of such contact. 

22 (5) The effectiveness of the Veterans Crisis 

23 Line in assisting veterans at risk for suicide when 

24 the Veterans Crisis Line is contacted by a non-vet25 eran, by determining, of the number of non-veterans 


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1 who contact the Veterans Crisis Line looking for 

2 support in assisting a veteran, how many of such in3 dividuals receive support in having a veteran begin 

4 to receive mental health care furnished by the Sec5 retary. 

6 (6) The overall efficacy of the Veterans Crisis 

7 Line in preventing suicides and whether the number 

8 of contacts affects the efficacy, by determining— 

9 (A) the number of veterans who contact 

10 the Veterans Crisis Line who ultimately commit 

11 or attempt suicide; and 

12 (B) of such veterans, how many times did 

13 a veteran contact the Veterans Crisis Line prior 

14 to committing or attempting suicide. 

15 (7) The long-term efficacy of the Veterans Cri16 sis Line in preventing repeated suicide attempts and 

17 whether the efficacy is temporary, by determining, of 

18 the number of veterans who contacted the Veterans 

19 Crisis Line and did not commit or attempt suicide 

20 during the following six-month period, the number 

21 who contacted the Veterans Crisis Line in crisis at 

22 a later time and thereafter did commit or attempt 

23 suicide. 

24 (8) Whether referral to mental health care af25 fects the risk of suicide, by determining— 


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1 (A) the number of veterans who contact 

2 the Veterans Crisis Line who are not referred 

3 to, or do not continue receiving, mental health 

4 care who commit suicide; and 

5 (B) the number of veterans described in 

6 paragraph (1)(A) who commit or attempt sui7 cide. 

8 (9) The efficacy of the Veterans Crisis Line to 

9 promote continued mental health care in those vet10 erans who are at high risk for suicide whose suicide 

11 was prevented, by determining, of the number of vet12 erans who contacted the Veterans Crisis Line and 

13 did not commit or attempt suicide soon thereafter, 

14 the number that begin and continue to receive men15 tal health care furnished by the Secretary. 

16 (c) DATA COLLECTION PRACTICES.—During the por17 tion of the five-year period of study under subsection (a) 

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, data shall be 

19 collected in the same manner that it had been collected 

20 during the portion of the period of the study before such 

21 date of enactment. Data collection shall not be construed 

22 as being extended, contracted, or modified in any way due 

23 to the enactment of this Act. 

24 (d) SUBMISSION.—Not later than March 1, 2020, the 

25 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ AfVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:32 Dec 01, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2174.IS S2174

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1 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Af2 fairs of the House of Representatives the study conducted 

3 under subsection (a). 

4 (e) VETERANS CRISIS LINE DEFINED.—In this sec5 tion, the term ‘‘Veterans Crisis Line’’ means the toll-free 

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

7 title 38, United States Code. 

Æ 


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