II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3808 

To reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 3, 2006 

Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. BROWNBACK, 

Mr. TALENT, Ms. SNOWE, and Mr. LAUTENBERG) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans. 

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 ‘‘Joshua Omvig Vet5 erans Suicide Prevention Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM FOR SUICIDE PREVEN7 TION AMONG VETERANS. 

8 (a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Vet9 erans Affairs shall develop and implement a comprehen10 sive program for reducing the incidence of suicide among 

11 veterans. 


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1 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.— 

2 (1) DE-STIGMATIZING MENTAL HEALTH.—The 

3 program required by subsection (a) shall include a 

4 national mental health campaign to increase aware5 ness in the veteran community that mental health is 

6 essential to overall health and that very effective 

7 modern treatments can promote recovery from men8 tal illness. The campaign may include the following: 

9 (A) Activities targeted at veterans of Oper10 ation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring 

11 Freedom and the families of such veterans. 

12 (B) Monthly messages on the Internet 

13 website of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

14 that express the theme that mental health is es15 sential to overall health. 

16 (C) Inclusion of the theme described in 

17 subparagraph (B) in public addresses, speeches, 

18 and veterans service organization convention 

19 addresses by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

20 and other senior officials of the Department. 

21 (2) TRAINING OF EMPLOYEES AND OTHER PER22 SONNEL.—The program shall provide for mandatory 

23 training on suicide and suicide prevention for appro24 priate employees and contractor personnel (including 

25 all medical personnel) of the Department of VetVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:11 Aug 07, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3808.IS S3808

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1 erans Affairs who interact with veterans. Such train2 ing shall include information pertinent to the job of 

3 such employees and personnel, including information 

4 on the following: 

5 (A) Recognition of risk factors for suicide. 

6 (B) Protocols for responding to crisis situ7 ations involving veterans who may be at high 

8 risk for suicide. 

9 (C) Best practices for suicide prevention. 

10 (3) FAMILY EDUCATION.—The program shall 

11 include programs targeted at family members of vet12 erans to assist such family members— 

13 (A) understanding issues that arise in the 

14 readjustment of veterans to civilian life; 

15 (B) identifying signs and symptoms of 

16 mental health problems; and 

17 (C) encouraging veterans to seek assist18 ance for such problems. 

19 (4) PEER SUPPORT PROGRAM.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The program shall pro21 vide support for the development of a program 

22 to enable veterans to serve as peer counselors to 

23 assist other veterans with mental health issues. 

24 (B) PEER SUPPORT COUNSELING AS A

25 SUPPLEMENTAL SERVICE.—The program supVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:11 Aug 07, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3808.IS S3808

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1 ported by subparagraph (A) shall be offered in 

2 addition to other mental health services already 

3 offered by the Department and services created 

4 pursuant to this Act. 

5 (5) HEALTH ASSESSMENTS OF VETERANS.— 

6 The program shall encourage all veterans, when they 

7 apply for benefits provided by the Department, to 

8 undergo a mental health assessment at a Depart9 ment of Veterans Affairs medical facility (including 

10 a center established under section 1712A of title 38, 

11 United States Code). 

12 (6) COUNSELING AND TREATMENT OF VET13 ERANS.—The program shall provide for referrals to 

14 appropriate counseling and treatment programs for 

15 veterans who show signs or symptoms of mental 

16 health problems. 

17 (7) SUICIDE PREVENTION COUNSELORS.—The 

18 program shall provide for the designation of a sui19 cide prevention counselor at each Department of 

20 Veterans Affairs medical facility other than centers 

21 established under section 1712A of title 38, United 

22 States Code. Each counselor shall work with local 

23 emergency rooms, law enforcement agencies, local 

24 mental health organizations, and veterans service or25 ganizations to engage in outreach to veterans to inVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:11 Aug 07, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3808.IS S3808

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1 form them of mental health services that are avail2 able to them and to improve the coordination of 

3 mental health care to veterans at the local level. 

4 (8) ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.— 

5 The program shall include mechanisms to ensure 

6 that veterans in rural and geographically remote 

7 areas have access to quality mental health care. In 

8 ensuring the delivery of quality mental health care 

9 to such veterans, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

10 shall collaborate with the following agencies: 

11 (A) The Department of Health and 

12 Human Services. 

13 (B) The National Institute of Mental 

14 Health. 

15 (C) The Indian Health Service. 

16 (D) The Health Resources and Services 

17 Administration. 

18 (E) The Substance Abuse and Mental 

19 Health Services Administration. 

20 (9) RESEARCH ON BEST PRACTICES.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The program shall pro22 vide for research on best practices for suicide 

23 prevention among veterans. 

24 (B) STEERING COMMITTEE.—The Sec25 retary of Veterans Affairs shall develop a steerVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:11 Aug 07, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3808.IS S3808

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1 ing committee to advise the Secretary of Vet2 erans Affairs on the research described in sub3 paragraph (A). Such steering committee shall 

4 be comprised of representatives from the fol5 lowing: 

6 (i) National Institute of Mental 

7 Health. 

8 (ii) Substance Abuse and Mental 

9 Health Services Administration. 

10 (iii) Centers for Disease Control and 

11 Prevention. 

12 (10) RESEARCH ON SEXUAL TRAUMA.—The 

13 program shall provide for research on mental health 

14 care for veterans who experience sexual trauma 

15 while in service in the Armed Forces, including 

16 members who experience such trauma while serving 

17 in a reserve component of the Armed Forces. 

18 (11) 24-HOUR MENTAL HEALTH CARE.—The 

19 program shall include mechanisms to ensure the 

20 availability of services for mental health care for vet21 erans on a 24-hour basis. 

22 (12) TELEPHONE HOTLINE.—The program 

23 may include a toll-free telephone number (commonly 

24 referred to as an ‘‘800 number’’) through which vet25 erans may obtain information on and referrals to apVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:11 Aug 07, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3808.IS S3808

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1 propriate mental health services. The telephone 

2 number shall be serviced by personnel with appro3 priate mental health training, and shall be oper4 ational at all times. 

5 (13) OTHER ELEMENTS.—The program may 

6 provide for such other activities and programs to re7 duce the incidence of suicide among veterans as the 

8 Secretary of Veterans Affairs considers appropriate. 

9 SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON SUICIDE PREVENTION 

10 PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES. 

11 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days 

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

13 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on 

14 the programs and activities of the Department of Veterans 

15 Affairs to reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans. 

16 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report shall include the fol17 lowing: 

18 (1) A description of the status of the implemen19 tation of the program required by section 2(a). 

20 (2) A description of the scheduled implementa21 tion of the program during the two-year period be22 ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, in23 cluding the costs of implementation of the program 

24 over that period. 


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1 (3) A plan for additional programs and activi2 ties to reduce the incidence of suicide among vet3 erans. 

4 (4) Such recommendations for additional legis5 lative or administrative action as the Secretary con6 siders appropriate to improve and enhance the sui7 cide prevention programs and activities of the De8 partment. 

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

10 by subsection (b)(3), the Secretary shall consult with the 

11 following: 

12 (1) The National Institute of Mental Health. 

13 (2) The Substance Abuse and Mental Health 

14 Services Administration. 

15 (3) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

16 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that— 

18 (1) suicide among veterans suffering from post19 traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious prob20 lem; and 

21 (2) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should 

22 take into consideration the special needs of veterans 

23 suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder in deVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:11 Aug 07, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3808.IS S3808

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1 veloping and implementing the comprehensive pro2 gram required by section 2(a). 

Æ 


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