II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 132 

To require a pilot program on activities under the pre-separation transition 

process of members of the Armed Forces for a reduction in suicide 

among veterans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 30, 2023 

Mr. BROWN (for himself and Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To require a pilot program on activities under the pre-separation transition process of members of the Armed Forces 

for a reduction in suicide among veterans, 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 ‘‘Daniel J. Harvey Jr. 

5 and Adam Lambert Improving Servicemember Transition 

6 to Reduce Veteran Suicide Act’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 132 IS

1 SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ON ACTIVITIES UNDER THE PRE2 SEPARATION TRANSITION PROCESS OF MEM3 BERS OF THE ARMED FORCES FOR A REDUC4 TION IN SUICIDE AMONG VETERANS. 

5 (a) PILOT PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 

6 Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly 

7 carry out a pilot program to assess the feasibility and ad8 visability of providing the module described in subsection 

9 (b) and services under subsection (c) as part of the pre10 separation transition process for members of the Armed 

11 Forces as a means of reducing the incidence of suicide 

12 among veterans. 

13 (b) MODULE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The module described in this 

15 subsection shall include the following: 

16 (A) An in-person meeting between a cohort 

17 of members of the Armed Forces participating 

18 in the pilot program and a social worker or 

19 nurse in which the social worker or nurse— 

20 (i) educates the cohort on resources 

21 for and specific potential risks confronting 

22 such members after discharge or release 

23 from the Armed Forces, including— 

24 (I) loss of community or a sup25 port system; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 132 IS

1 (II) isolation from family, 

2 friends, or society; 

3 (III) identity crisis in the transi4 tion from military to civilian life; 

5 (IV) vulnerability viewed as a 

6 weakness; 

7 (V) need for empathy; 

8 (VI) self-medication and addic9 tion; 

10 (VII) importance of sleep and ex11 ercise; 

12 (VIII) homelessness; 

13 (IX) risk factors contributing to 

14 attempts of suicide and deaths by sui15 cide; and 

16 (X) safe storage of firearms as 

17 part of suicide prevention lethal 

18 means safety efforts; 

19 (ii) educates the cohort on— 

20 (I) the signs and symptoms of 

21 suicide risk and physical, psycho22 logical, or neurological issues, such as 

23 post-traumatic stress disorder, trau24 matic brain injury, chronic pain, sleep 

25 disorders, substance use disorders, adVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:14 Feb 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S132.IS S132

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 132 IS

1 verse childhood experiences, depres2 sion, bipolar disorder, and socio-eco3 logical concerns, such as homeless4 ness, unemployment, and relationship 

5 strain; 

6 (II) the potential risks for mem7 bers of the Armed Forces from such 

8 issues after discharge or release from 

9 the Armed Forces; and 

10 (III) the resources and treatment 

11 options available to such members for 

12 such issues through the Department 

13 of Veterans Affairs, the Department 

14 of Defense, and non-profit organiza15 tions; 

16 (iii) educates the cohort about the re17 sources available to victims of military sex18 ual trauma through the Department of 

19 Veterans Affairs; and 

20 (iv) educates the cohort about the 

21 manner in which members might experi22 ence challenges during the transition from 

23 military to civilian life, and the resources 

24 available to them through the Department 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 132 IS

1 of Veterans Affairs, the Department of De2 fense, and other organizations. 

3 (B) The provision to each member of the 

4 cohort of contact information for a counseling 

5 or other appropriate facility of the Department 

6 of Veterans Affairs in the locality in which such 

7 member intends to reside after discharge or re8 lease. 

9 (C) The submittal by each member of the 

10 cohort to the Department of Veterans Affairs 

11 (including both the Veterans Health Adminis12 tration and the Veterans Benefits Administra13 tion) of their medical records in connection with 

14 service in the Armed Forces, whether or not 

15 such members intend to file a claim with the 

16 Department for benefits with respect to any 

17 service-connected disability. 

18 (2) COMPOSITION OF COHORT.—Each cohort 

19 participating in the module described in this sub20 section shall be comprised of not fewer than 50 indi21 viduals. 

22 (c) SERVICES.—In carrying out the pilot program, 

23 the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans 

24 Affairs shall provide to each individual participating in the 

25 pilot program the following services: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 132 IS

1 (1) During the transition process and prior to 

2 discharge or release from the Armed Forces, a one3 on-one meeting with a social worker or nurse of the 

4 Department of Veterans Affairs who will— 

5 (A) conduct an assessment of the indi6 vidual regarding eligibility to receive health care 

7 or counseling services from the Department of 

8 Veterans Affairs; 

9 (B) for those eligible, or likely to be eligi10 ble, to receive health care or counseling services 

11 from the Department of Veterans Affairs— 

12 (i) identify and provide contact infor13 mation for an appropriate facility of the 

14 Department of Veterans Affairs in the lo15 cality in which such individual intends to 

16 reside after discharge or release; 

17 (ii) facilitate registration or enroll18 ment in the system of patient enrollment 

19 of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

20 under section 1705(a) of title 38, United 

21 States Code, if applicable; 

22 (iii) educate the individual about care, 

23 benefits, and services available to the indi24 vidual through the Veterans Health Ad25 ministration; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 132 IS

1 (iv) coordinate health care based on 

2 the health care needs of the individual, if 

3 applicable, to include establishing an initial 

4 appointment, at the election of the indi5 vidual, to occur not later than 90 days 

6 after the date of discharge or release of the 

7 member from the Armed Forces. 

8 (2) For each individual determined ineligible for 

9 care and services from the Department of Veterans 

10 Affairs during the transition process, the Secretary 

11 of Defense shall conduct an assessment of the indi12 vidual to determine the needs of the individual and 

13 appropriate follow-up, which shall be identified and 

14 documented in the appropriate records of the De15 partment of Defense. 

16 (3) During the appointment scheduled pursuant 

17 to paragraph (1)(B)(iv), the Secretary of Veterans 

18 Affairs shall conduct an assessment of the individual 

19 to determine the needs of the individual and appro20 priate follow-up, which shall be identified and docu21 mented in the appropriate records of the Depart22 ment of Veterans Affairs. 

23 (d) LOCATIONS.— 

24 (1) MODULE AND MEETING.—The module 

25 under subsection (b) and the one-on-one meeting 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 132 IS

1 under subsection (c)(1) shall be carried out at not 

2 fewer than 10 locations of the Department of De3 fense that serve not fewer than 300 members of the 

4 Armed Forces annually that are jointly selected by 

5 the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Vet6 erans Affairs for purposes of the pilot program. 

7 (2) ASSESSMENT AND APPOINTMENT.—The as8 sessment under subsection (c)(2) and the appoint9 ment under subsection (c)(3) may occur at any loca10 tion determined appropriate by the Secretary of De11 fense or the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, as the 

12 case may be. 

13 (3) MEMBERS SERVED.—The locations selected 

14 under paragraph (1) shall, to the extent practicable, 

15 be locations that, whether individually or in aggre16 gate, serve all the Armed Forces and both the reg17 ular and reserve components of the Armed Forces. 

18 (e) SELECTION AND COMMENCEMENT.—The Sec19 retary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

20 shall jointly select the locations of the pilot program under 

21 subsection (d)(1) and commence carrying out activities 

22 under the pilot program by not later than September 30, 

23 2024. 

24 (f) DURATION.—The duration of the pilot program 

25 shall be five years. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 132 IS

1 (g) REPORTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

3 after the commencement of the pilot program, and 

4 annually thereafter during the duration of the pilot 

5 program, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary 

6 of Veterans Affairs shall jointly submit to the appro7 priate committees of Congress a report on the activi8 ties under the pilot program. 

9 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by para10 graph (1) shall include the following: 

11 (A) The demographic information of the 

12 members and former members of the Armed 

13 Forces who participated in the pilot program 

14 during the one-year period ending on the date 

15 of such report. 

16 (B) A description of the activities under 

17 the pilot program during such period. 

18 (C) An assessment of the benefits of the 

19 activities under the pilot program during such 

20 period to members and former members of the 

21 Armed Forces. 

22 (D) An assessment of whether the activi23 ties under the pilot program as of the date of 

24 such report have met the targeted outcomes of 

25 the pilot program among members and former 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 132 IS

1 members who participated in the pilot program 

2 within one year of discharge or release from the 

3 Armed Forces. 

4 (E) Such recommendations as the Sec5 retary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans 

6 Affairs jointly consider appropriate regarding 

7 the feasibility and advisability of expansion of 

8 the pilot program, extension of the pilot pro9 gram, or both. 

10 (h) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE11 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate commit12 tees of Congress’’ means— 

13 (1) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

14 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate; and 

15 (2) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

16 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

17 Representatives. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS