II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2930 

To direct the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

to provide for the conduct of an evaluation of mental health care and 

suicide prevention programs of the Department of Defense and the 

Department of Veterans Affairs, to require a pilot program on loan 

repayment for psychiatrists who agree to serve in the Veterans Health 

Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2014 

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. BURR, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. 

MANCHIN, and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs to provide for the conduct of an evaluation of mental health care and suicide prevention programs of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, to require a pilot program 

on loan repayment for psychiatrists who agree to serve 

in the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clay Hunt Suicide Pre3 vention for American Veterans Act’’ or the ‘‘Clay Hunt 

4 SAV Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. EVALUATION OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE AND SUI6 CIDE PREVENTION PROGRAMS OF DEPART7 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND DEPART8 MENT OF DEFENSE. 

9 (a) EVALUATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

11 shall provide for the conduct of an evaluation of the 

12 mental health care and suicide prevention programs 

13 carried out under the laws administered by such 

14 Secretary. 

15 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each evaluation conducted 

16 under paragraph (1) shall— 

17 (A) use metrics that are common among 

18 and useful for practitioners in the field of men19 tal health care and suicide prevention; 

20 (B) evaluate the effectiveness of each men21 tal health care and suicide prevention program 

22 conducted by the Secretary concerned, including 

23 such programs conducted at a Center of Excel24 lence; 


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1 (C) identify the most effective and least ef2 fective of the programs evaluated under sub3 paragraph (B); 

4 (D) include recommendations on which 

5 programs evaluated under subparagraph (B) 

6 can be eliminated or consolidated and which 

7 programs can benefit from additional resources; 

8 and 

9 (E) propose best practices for caring for 

10 individuals who suffer from mental health dis11 orders or are at risk of suicide. 

12 (3) THIRD PARTY.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each evaluation pro14 vided for under paragraph (1) shall be con15 ducted by an independent third party unaffili16 ated with the Department of Veterans Affairs 

17 and the Department of Defense. 

18 (B) SUBMITTAL OF EVALUATION.—An 

19 independent third party that conducts an eval20 uation provided for under paragraph (1) shall 

21 submit to the Secretary concerned the evalua22 tion of the mental health care and suicide pre23 vention programs carried out under the laws 

24 administered by such Secretary. 


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1 (4) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary con3 cerned shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

4 Congress a report that contains the evaluation sub5 mitted to the Secretary under paragraph (3)(B). 

6 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON8 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con9 gress’’ means— 

10 (A) the Committee on Armed Services and 

11 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen12 ate; and 

13 (B) the Committee on Armed Services and 

14 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

15 House of Representatives. 

16 (2) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec17 retary concerned’’ means— 

18 (A) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs with 

19 respect to matters concerning the Department 

20 of Veterans Affairs; and 

21 (B) the Secretary of Defense with respect 

22 to matters concerning the Department of De23 fense. 


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1 SEC. 3. PUBLICATION OF INTERNET WEBSITE TO PROVIDE 

2 INFORMATION REGARDING MENTAL HEALTH 

3 CARE SERVICES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

5 shall publish an Internet website that serves as a central6 ized source to provide veterans with information regarding 

7 all of the mental health care services provided by the Sec8 retary. 

9 (b) ELEMENTS.—The Internet website published 

10 under subsection (a) shall provide to veterans information 

11 regarding all of the mental health care services available 

12 under the laws administered by the Secretary, disaggre13 gated by Veterans Integrated Service Network, including, 

14 with respect to each medical center and community-based 

15 outpatient center— 

16 (1) the name and contact information of each 

17 social work office; 

18 (2) the name and contact information of each 

19 mental health clinic; 

20 (3) a list of all staff who carry out tasks related 

21 to the provision of mental health care services; and 

22 (4) any other information the Secretary deter23 mines appropriate. 

24 (c) UPDATED INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall 

25 ensure that the information described in subsection (b) 


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1 that is published on the Internet website under subsection 

2 (a) is updated not less than once every 90 days. 

3 (d) OUTREACH.—In carrying out this section, the 

4 Secretary shall ensure that the outreach conducted under 

5 section 1720F(i) of title 38, United States Code, includes 

6 information regarding the Internet website published 

7 under subsection (a). 

8 SEC. 4. IMPROVEMENTS TO HEALTH CARE MATTERS. 

9 (a) RESERVE COMPONENTS AND DEPARTMENT OF

10 VETERANS AFFAIRS.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

11 and the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the 

12 Chief of the National Guard Bureau, shall enter into for13 mal strategic relationships between the Joint Forces 

14 Headquarters of each State regional commands of the re15 serve components of the Armed Forces and the Veterans 

16 Service Integrated Network, medical facilities of the De17 partment of Veterans Affairs, and other local offices of 

18 the Department of Veterans Affairs located in or serving 

19 the State with respect to facilitating— 

20 (1) the mental health referrals of members of 

21 the reserve components of the Armed Forces who 

22 have a service-connected disability and are being dis23 charged or released from the Armed Forces; 

24 (2) timely behavioral health services for such 

25 members; 


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1 (3) communication between the various entities 

2 when such members are at risk for behavioral health 

3 reasons; and 

4 (4) the transfer of documentation for line of 

5 duty and fitness for duty determinations. 

6 (b) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON TRANSI7 TION OF CARE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than April 1, 

9 2015, the Comptroller General of the United States 

10 shall submit to the congressional defense committees 

11 (as defined in section 101(a)(16) of title 10, United 

12 States Code), the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 

13 the Senate, and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

14 of the House of Representatives a report that as15 sesses the transition of care for post-traumatic 

16 stress disorder or traumatic brain injury. 

17 (2) MATTERS INCLUDED.—The report under 

18 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

19 (A) The programs, policies, and regula20 tions that affect the transition of care for post21 traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain in22 jury, particularly with respect to individuals 

23 who are taking or have been prescribed antide24 pressants, stimulants, antipsychotics, mood staVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:40 Nov 18, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2930.IS S2930

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1 bilizers, anxiolytics, depressants, or hallucino2 gens. 

3 (B) Upon transitioning to care furnished 

4 by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the extent 

5 to which the pharmaceutical treatment plan of 

6 an individual changes and the factors deter7 mining such changes. 

8 (C) The extent to which the Secretary of 

9 Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

10 have worked together to identify and apply best 

11 pharmaceutical treatment practices. 

12 (D) A description of the off-formulary 

13 waiver process of the Secretary of Veterans Af14 fairs, and the extent to which the process is ap15 plied efficiently at the treatment level. 

16 (E) The benefits and challenges of com17 bining the formularies across the Department 

18 of Defense and the Department of Veterans Af19 fairs. 

20 (F) Such other issues as the Comptroller 

21 General considers appropriate. 

22 (3) TRANSITION OF CARE DEFINED.—In this 

23 subsection, the term ‘‘transition of care’’ means the 

24 transition of an individual from receiving treatment 


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1 furnished by the Secretary of Defense to treatment 

2 furnished by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

3 SEC. 5. PILOT PROGRAM FOR REPAYMENT OF EDU4 CATIONAL LOANS FOR CERTAIN PSYCHIA5 TRISTS OF VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRA6 TION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

8 shall carry out a pilot program to repay loans of individ9 uals described in subsection (b) that— 

10 (1) were used by such individuals to finance the 

11 educational expenses of such individuals relating to 

12 psychiatric medicine, including education leading 

13 to— 

14 (A) an undergraduate degree; 

15 (B) a degree of doctor of medicine; or 

16 (C) a degree of doctor of osteopathy; and 

17 (2) were obtained from any of the following: 

18 (A) A governmental entity. 

19 (B) A private financial institution. 

20 (C) An institution of higher education. 

21 (D) Any other entity as specified the Sec22 retary for purposes of the pilot program. 

23 (b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), an 

2 individual eligible for participation in the pilot pro3 gram is an individual who— 

4 (A) either— 

5 (i) is licensed or eligible for licensure 

6 to practice psychiatric medicine in the Vet7 erans Health Administration of the De8 partment of Veterans Affairs; or 

9 (ii) is enrolled in the final year of a 

10 residency program leading to a specialty 

11 qualification in psychiatric medicine that is 

12 approved by the Accreditation Council for 

13 Graduate Medical Education; and 

14 (B) demonstrates a commitment to a long15 term career as a psychiatrist in the Veterans 

16 Health Administration, as determined by the 

17 Secretary. 

18 (2) PROHIBITION ON SIMULTANEOUS ELIGI19 BILITY.—An individual who is participating in any 

20 other program of the Federal Government that re21 pays the educational loans of the individual is not el22 igible to participate in the pilot program. 

23 (c) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall select not less 

24 than 10 individuals described in subsection (b) to particiVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:40 Nov 18, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2930.IS S2930

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1 pate in the pilot program for each year in which the Sec2 retary carries out the pilot program. 

3 (d) PERIOD OF OBLIGATED SERVICE.—The Sec4 retary shall enter into an agreement with each individual 

5 selected under subsection (c) in which such individual 

6 agrees to serve a period of obligated service for the Vet7 erans Health Administration in the field of psychiatric 

8 medicine, as determined by the Secretary for purposes of 

9 the pilot program, in exchange for the repayment of the 

10 loan or loans of such individual under the pilot program. 

11 (e) LOAN REPAYMENTS.— 

12 (1) AMOUNTS.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 

13 loan repayment under this section may consist of 

14 payment of the principal, interest, and related ex15 penses of a loan obtained by an individual who is 

16 participating in the pilot program for all educational 

17 expenses (including tuition, fees, books, and labora18 tory expenses) of such individual relating to edu19 cation described in subsection (a)(1). 

20 (2) LIMIT.—For each year of obligated service 

21 that an individual who is participating in the pilot 

22 program agrees to serve under subsection (d), the 

23 Secretary may pay not more than $120,000 in loan 

24 repayment on behalf of such individual. 

25 (f) BREACH.— 


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1 (1) LIABILITY.—An individual who participates 

2 in the pilot program and fails to satisfy the period 

3 of obligated service under subsection (d) shall be lia4 ble to the United States, in lieu of such obligated 

5 service, for the amount that has been paid or is pay6 able to or on behalf of the individual under the pilot 

7 program, reduced by the proportion that the number 

8 of days served for completion of the period of obli9 gated service bears to the total number of days in 

10 the period of obligated service of such individual. 

11 (2) REPAYMENT PERIOD.—Any amount of dam12 ages that the United States is entitled to recover 

13 under this subsection shall be paid to the United 

14 States not later than one year after the date of the 

15 breach of the agreement. 

16 (g) REPORTS.— 

17 (1) INITIAL REPORT.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two 

19 years after the date on which the pilot program 

20 under subsection (a) commences, the Secretary 

21 shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Af22 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Vet23 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 

24 a report on the pilot program. 


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1 (B) ELEMENTS.—The report required by 

2 subparagraph (A) shall include the following: 

3 (i) The number of individuals who 

4 participated in the pilot program. 

5 (ii) The locations in which such indi6 viduals were employed by the Department, 

7 including how many such locations were 

8 rural or urban locations. 

9 (iii) An assessment of the quality of 

10 the work performed by such individuals in 

11 the course of such employment. 

12 (iv) The number of psychiatrists the 

13 Secretary determines is needed by the De14 partment in the future. 

15 (2) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 

16 after the date on which the pilot program terminates 

17 under subsection (i), the Secretary shall submit to 

18 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate 

19 and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

20 House of Representatives an update to the report 

21 submitted under paragraph (1). 

22 (3) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 

23 after the date on which the pilot program terminates 

24 under subsection (i), the Secretary shall submit to 

25 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate 


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1 and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

2 House of Representatives a report specifying the 

3 number of individuals who participated in the pilot 

4 who are still employed by the Department as of the 

5 date of submittal of the report. 

6 (h) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

7 regulations to carry out this section, including standards 

8 for qualified loans and authorized payees and other terms 

9 and conditions for the making of loan repayments. 

10 (i) TERMINATION.—The authority to carry out the 

11 pilot program shall expire on the date that is three years 

12 after the date on which the Secretary commences the pilot 

13 program. 

14 SEC. 6. REVIEW OF STAFFING REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE 

15 DIRECTORS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 540 days after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 

18 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 

19 a report detailing the results of a review, conducted in co20 ordination with the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, 

21 of the staffing requirements for individual State National 

22 Guard Commands with respect to Directors of Psycho23 logical Health. 


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1 (b) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE2 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate commit3 tees of Congress’’ means— 

4 (1) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

5 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate; and 

6 (2) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

7 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

8 Representatives. 

9 SEC. 7. COLLABORATION ON SUICIDE PREVENTION EF10 FORTS BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF VET11 ERANS AFFAIRS AND NON-PROFIT MENTAL 

12 HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS. 

13 (a) COLLABORATION.—The Secretary of Veterans Af14 fairs may collaborate with non-profit mental health orga15 nizations to prevent suicide among veterans as follows: 

16 (1) To improve the efficiency and effectiveness 

17 of suicide prevention efforts carried out by the De18 partment of Veterans Affairs and non-profit mental 

19 health organizations. 

20 (2) To assist non-profit mental health organiza21 tions with the suicide prevention efforts of those or22 ganizations through the use of the expertise of em23 ployees of the Department. 

24 (3) To jointly carry out suicide prevention ef25 forts. 


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1 (b) EXCHANGE OF RESOURCES.—In carrying out any 

2 collaboration under subsection (a), the Secretary and any 

3 non-profit mental health organization with which the Sec4 retary is collaborating under such subsection shall ex5 change training sessions, best practices, and other re6 sources to help with the suicide prevention efforts of the 

7 Department and such organization. 

8 (c) DIRECTOR OF SUICIDE PREVENTION COORDINA9 TION.—The Secretary shall select within the Department 

10 a Director of Suicide Prevention Coordination to under11 take any collaboration with non-profit mental health orga12 nizations under this section or any other provision of law. 

Æ 


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