I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5223 

To provide for the enhancement of the suicide prevention programs of the 

Department of Defense, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 6, 2008 

Mr. BOSWELL (for himself, Mr. HAYES, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. ORTIZ, 

Mrs. BOYDA of Kansas, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, and Mr. 

LOEBSACK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To provide for the enhancement of the suicide prevention 

programs of the Department of Defense, 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 ‘‘Armed Forces Suicide 

5 Prevention Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ENHANCEMENT OF SUICIDE PREVENTION PRO7 GRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. 

8 (a) ENHANCEMENT OF SUICIDE PREVENTION PRO9 GRAMS.—The Secretary of Defense shall take appropriate 


smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
2 

•HR 5223 IH

1 actions to enhance the suicide prevention programs of the 

2 Department of Defense. 

3 (b) TRAINING AND ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR

4 MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.—The actions taken 

5 under subsection (a) shall include the following: 

6 (1) A review and evaluation of existing suicide 

7 prevention efforts across the military departments, 

8 including an assessment of the effectiveness of cur9 rent efforts and of how such efforts are addressing 

10 issues related to combat stress. 

11 (2) A requirement for suicide prevention train12 ing (as described in subsection (c)) on an annual 

13 basis for all members of the Armed Forces (includ14 ing members of the National Guard and Reserve), 

15 for all civilian health care community and family 

16 support professionals of the Department of Defense, 

17 and for such other service personnel of the Depart18 ment as the Secretary shall designate for purposes 

19 of this paragraph. 

20 (3) Enhancement of the basic lifesaving train21 ing course for members of the Armed Forces to in22 clude within such training matters relating to rec23 ognition of risk factors for suicide, identification of 

24 signs and symptoms of mental health concerns and 

25 combat stress, and protocols for responding to crisis 


smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
3 

•HR 5223 IH

1 situations involving members of the Armed Forces 

2 who may be at high risk for suicide. 

3 (4) Enhancement of training for military med4 ics and medical personnel to include within such 

5 training matters relating to recognition of risk fac6 tors for suicide, identification of signs and symptoms 

7 of mental health concerns and combat stress, and 

8 protocols for responding to crisis situations involving 

9 members of the Armed Forces who may be at high 

10 risk for suicide. 

11 (5) Review and enhancement of requirements 

12 for access of units to crisis response teams to pre13 vent and respond to traumatic events, such as mem14 bers in crisis or loss of unit members, which teams 

15 shall include qualified mental health professionals 

16 and may include medical staff, chaplains, family 

17 support staff, peers, and other appropriate per18 sonnel. 

19 (c) SUICIDE PREVENTION TRAINING.—For purposes 

20 of this section, suicide prevention training is comprehen21 sive training on suicide prevention (including, at a min22 imum, education, training, peer-to-peer support methods, 

23 outreach, and de-stigmatization on suicide) developed by 

24 the Secretary of Defense for purposes of this section in 

25 consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the 


smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
4 

•HR 5223 IH

1 National Institute of Mental Health, the Substance Abuse 

2 and Mental Health Services Administration of the Depart3 ment of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for 

4 Disease Control and Prevention. 

5 (d) OUTREACH.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The actions taken under 

7 subsection (a) shall include a campaign of outreach 

8 throughout the Armed Forces and the military fam9 ily communities intended to— 

10 (A) reduce the stigma among members of 

11 the Armed Forces and their families, and in 

12 such communities, associated with mental 

13 health concerns; 

14 (B) encourage members of the Armed 

15 Forces and individuals in such communities to 

16 seek help with such concerns; 

17 (C) increase awareness among members of 

18 the Armed Forces and in such communities 

19 that mental health is essential to overall health; 

20 and 

21 (D) increase awareness among members of 

22 the Armed Forces and in such communities re23 garding substance abuse concerns, relationship 

24 and financial difficulties, and legal and occupa25 tional difficulties. 


smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
5 

•HR 5223 IH

1 (2) PUBLIC ADDRESSES.—As part of the cam2 paign of outreach, the Secretary shall provide for the 

3 inclusion in addresses to veterans service organiza4 tions and other public addresses, and in other public 

5 speeches, by senior officials of the Department of 

6 Defense of the themes of the importance of mental 

7 health, and the importance of seeking help on men8 tal health concerns and stress on military family 

9 members, for members of the Armed Forces, vet10 erans, and their families. 

11 (e) POST-DEPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE FOR SPOUSES

12 AND PARENTS OF RETURNING MEMBERS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

14 spouses and parents of members of the Armed 

15 Forces, including members of the National Guard 

16 and Reserve, who are returning from deployment as17 sistance in— 

18 (A) understanding issues that arise in the 

19 readjustment of such members— 

20 (i) for members of the National Guard 

21 and Reserve, to civilian life; and 

22 (ii) for members of the regular compo23 nents of the Armed Forces, to military life 

24 in a non-combat environment; 


smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
6 

•HR 5223 IH

1 (B) identifying signs and symptoms of sub2 stance abuse, mental health conditions, trau3 matic brain injury, and risk factors for suicide; 

4 and 

5 (C) encouraging such members and their 

6 families in seeking assistance for such condi7 tions and in seeking assistance on relationship, 

8 financial, legal, and occupational difficulties. 

9 (2) INFORMATION ON AVAILABLE RE10 SOURCES.—In providing assistance under paragraph 

11 (1), the Secretary shall provide information on the 

12 national suicide prevention hotline, local resources 

13 for mental health services, family counseling serv14 ices, or other appropriate services, including services 

15 available from both military providers of such serv16 ices and community-based providers of such services. 

17 (3) TIMING.—The Secretary shall provide re18 sources under paragraph (1) with respect to a mem19 ber of the Armed Forces not later than six months 

20 after the date of the return of such member from 

21 deployment. 

22 (f) ASSESSMENT OF ACTIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

24 for an evaluation and assessment of the actions un25 dertaken under this section by an appropriate nonVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:24 Feb 07, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5223.IH H5223

smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
7 

•HR 5223 IH

1 Federal Government entity selected by the Secretary 

2 for purposes of this subsection. The Secretary may 

3 provide for the evaluation and assessment by con4 tract or other cooperative agreement with, or by 

5 grant to, the entity so selected. 

6 (2) ELEMENTS.—In conducting the evaluation 

7 and assessment required under paragraph (1), the 

8 entity selected under that paragraph shall evaluate 

9 and assess the effectiveness of the actions taken 

10 under this section in reducing the incidence of sui11 cide among members of the Armed Forces, includ12 ing— 

13 (A) the extent to which the actions taken 

14 under this section effectively targeted members 

15 of the Armed Forces and their families; and 

16 (B) the extent to which the actions taken 

17 under this section increased awareness among 

18 members of the Armed Forces and their fami19 lies on risk factors for suicide. 

20 SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON SUICIDE PREVENTION 

21 PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES. 

22 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually 

24 thereafter, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Con25 gress a report on the programs and activities of the SecVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:24 Feb 07, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5223.IH H5223

smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
8 

•HR 5223 IH

1 retary of Defense to reduce the incidence of suicide among 

2 members of the Armed Forces. 

3 (b) ELEMENTS.—Each report under this section shall 

4 include the following: 

5 (1) The total number of suicides among mem6 bers of the Armed Forces during the period begin7 ning on January 1, 2002, and ending at the end of 

8 the most recent calendar year quarter preceding the 

9 submittal of such report, including the number of 

10 suicides confirmed and the number of deaths being 

11 investigated as a suicide, set forth— 

12 (A) by calendar year quarter in which 

13 death occurred; 

14 (B) by military department of the mem15 bers concerned; and 

16 (C) by whether death occurred while the 

17 members concerned were deployed or while as18 signed to permanent duty station or homeport. 

19 (2) A description of the status of the program 

20 required by section 2, including, for the first three 

21 reports under this section, a current description of 

22 the implementation of the program, including the 

23 costs of implementation of the program. 


smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
9 

•HR 5223 IH

1 (3) A description of the coordination of the pro2 gram with suicide prevention efforts of the Depart3 ment of Veterans Affairs. 

4 (4) In the case of the first report under this 

5 section, a plan for additional programs and activities 

6 to reduce the incidence of suicide among current and 

7 former members of the Armed Forces. 

8 (5) Such recommendations for additional legis9 lative or administrative action as the Secretary con10 siders appropriate to improve and enhance the sui11 cide prevention programs and activities of the De12 partment of Defense. 

13 (c) CONSULTATION.—In developing the plan required 

14 by subsection (b)(4), the Secretary of Defense shall con15 sult with the following: 

16 (1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

17 (2) The National Institute of Mental Health. 

18 (3) The Substance Abuse and Mental Health 

19 Services Administration of the Department of 

20 Health and Human Services. 

21 (4) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre22 vention. 


smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
10 

•HR 5223 IH

1 SEC. 4. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FOR UNIFORMED BE2 HAVIORAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS FOR 

3 THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. 

4 The Secretary of Defense may award grants to, and 

5 enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, such 

6 entities as the Secretary considers appropriate to identify 

7 and implement within the Department of Defense innova8 tive and effective strategies for the recruitment and reten9 tion of qualified uniformed behavioral health professionals 

10 to provide mental health services, and substance abuse dis11 order prevention and treatment services, for members of 

12 the Armed Forces. 

13 SEC. 5. REDUCING THE STIGMA ASSOCIATED WITH SEEK14 ING MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT. 

15 The Secretary of Defense may award grants to, and 

16 enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, such 

17 entities as the Secretary considers appropriate to identify 

18 and implement within the Department of Defense innova19 tive and effective strategies for reducing the stigma associ20 ated with seeking mental health treatment. 

21 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for fis23 cal year 2009 for the Department of Defense $6,000,000 

24 to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS