I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6291 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make grants to eligible entities 

for the purpose of carrying out Ask the Question Campaigns, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 8, 2023 

Ms. BROWNLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make grants 

to eligible entities for the purpose of carrying out Ask 

the Question Campaigns, 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 ‘‘Have You Served Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR ASK THE QUESTION CAMPAIGNS. 

6 (a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Veterans 

7 Affairs shall make grants to eligible entities for the pur8 pose of carrying out campaigns, to be known as ‘‘Ask the 

9 Question Campaigns’’, to encourage human services proVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 Nov 16, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6291.IH H6291

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1 fessionals, State and local governments, and community 

2 providers to ask consumers whether they or a loved one 

3 have served in the Armed Forces. 

4 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

5 a grant under subsection (a) shall use the grant— 

6 (1) to develop or expand an Ask the Question 

7 Campaign, under which the entity shall provide 

8 training to human services professionals, State and 

9 local governments, and community providers 

10 about— 

11 (A) how to appropriately ask consumers 

12 whether they or a loved one have served in the 

13 Armed Forces; and 

14 (B) resources available for members of the 

15 Armed Forces and veterans in their community 

16 through the Department of Veterans Affairs 

17 and other service providers to encourage the re18 cipients of such training to refer consumer to 

19 the Department and other service providers, as 

20 appropriate; and 

21 (2) for associated program costs, including 

22 staffing, technology, marketing and outreach mate23 rials, and convenings. 


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1 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this section, 

2 an eligible entity is a State or an American Indian or Alas3 ka Native tribe— 

4 (1) that— 

5 (A) in the case of a State, develops a vet6 eran suicide prevention plan, known as a ‘‘Gov7 ernors Challenge Action Plan’’; or 

8 (B) in the case of an American Indian or 

9 Alaska Native tribe, develops a veteran suicide 

10 prevention plan; and 

11 (2) that submits to the Secretary a proposal for 

12 the implementation of such plan that contains such 

13 information and assurances as the Secretary may re14 quire. 

15 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

16 provide technical assistance to eligible entities that receive 

17 grants under this section to support the development and 

18 implementation of Ask the Question Campaigns. Such as19 sistance shall include— 

20 (1) the provision of best practices acquired from 

21 the experiences of other eligible entities carrying out 

22 Ask the Question Campaigns; 

23 (2) the provision of information on veterans re24 sources in the State where the eligible entity is lo25 cated; 


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1 (3) the provision of information about screening 

2 protocols used by the Department for assessing sui3 cide risk and social determinants of health; and 

4 (4) establishing key performance indicators for 

5 the training provided under the Campaigns. 

6 (e) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The Secretary may make 

7 up to 25 grants under this section for each of fiscal years 

8 2024, 2025, and 2026. Each such grant shall be in an 

9 amount that does not exceed ‘‘$200,000’’. 

10 (f) REPORTING.— 

11 (1) GRANT RECIPIENTS.—As a condition of a 

12 grant under this section, an eligible entity shall 

13 agree to submit, by not later than the last day of 

14 each fiscal year during which the entity receives a 

15 grant, to the Secretary a report on the key perform16 ance indicators for the training provided using the 

17 grant funds. 

18 (2) IMPLEMENTATION REPORT.—Not later than 

19 one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

20 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on 

21 the implementation of this section. 

22 (3) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 30 days 

23 after the last day of a fiscal year for which the Sec24 retary makes a grant under this section, the Sec25 retary shall submit to Congress a report on the key 


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1 performance indicators for the training provided 

2 under such grants. 

3 (g) ASK THE QUESTION CAMPAIGNS FOR FEDERAL

4 AGENCIES.—The Secretary, in coordination with the Di5 rector of the Office of Management and Budget, shall de6 velop a plan to work with each Federal department and 

7 agency to implement Ask the Question Campaigns, where 

8 appropriate, through any social service or health care pro9 grams of the department or agency through which employ10 ees of the department or agency interact with individuals 

11 receiving services and benefits. 

12 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans 

14 Affairs to carry out this section $6,000,000 for each of 

15 fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 

16 (i) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

17 ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States, Territories, and 

18 possessions of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

19 and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

Æ 


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