I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2931 

To direct the Secretary of Defense to adopt a program of professional and 

confidential screenings for members of the armed forces on active duty 

to detect mental health conditions for the purpose of reducing the incidence of suicide among such members and veterans, and to detect traumatic brain injuries, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 17, 2009 

Mr. TEAGUE (for himself and Mr. MURPHY of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and 

in addition to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Defense to adopt a program 

of professional and confidential screenings for members 

of the armed forces on active duty to detect mental 

health conditions for the purpose of reducing the incidence of suicide among such members and veterans, and 

to detect traumatic brain injuries, 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 ‘‘Kyle Barthel Veterans 

3 and Service Members Mental Health Screening Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. MANDATORY CONFIDENTIAL SCREENINGS FOR SUI5 CIDE AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall 

7 ensure that each member of the armed forces on active 

8 duty (referred to in this Act as ‘‘member’’) is screened 

9 for mental health conditions by a licensed mental health 

10 professional for the purpose of reducing the prevalence of 

11 suicide among such service members, future veterans, and 

12 veterans. 

13 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR SCREENINGS.— 

14 (1) MANDATORY.—Each member shall be re15 quired to participate in screenings under subsection 

16 (a) shall be mandatory. 

17 (2) CONFIDENTIAL.—With respect to the 

18 screenings conducted under this section, the Sec19 retary shall ensure compliance with all applicable 

20 laws and regulations relating to the confidentiality of 

21 the health care information generated through such 

22 screenings. 

23 (3) IN PERSON SCREENING REQUIRED.—The li24 censed mental health professional conducting the 

25 screening under subsection (a) must be in the physVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:54 Jun 18, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2931.IH H2931

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1 ical presence of the member at the time the screen2 ing for such member is conducted. 

3 (4) STANDARDS.—The screenings under sub4 section (a) shall conform to a set of standards devel5 oped by the Secretary of Defense, in consultation 

6 with the National Institute for Mental Health, for 

7 the purpose of identifying suicide and substance 

8 abuse risk factors. 

9 (c) TIMING OF SCREENINGS.—With respect to a 

10 member, the screenings under subsection (a) shall be con11 ducted— 

12 (1) within 30 days of such member’s induction 

13 to active duty service; 

14 (2) as a component of each required physical 

15 exam; 

16 (3) one time during the 30-day period ending 

17 on the date such member is deployed to in support 

18 of a contingency operation (as defined in section 

19 101(13) of title 10, United States Code); 

20 (4) one time during the 30-day period ending 

21 on the date that such deployment is scheduled to 

22 end; 

23 (5) one time during the 90-day period following 

24 the date under paragraph (4); and 


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1 (6) one time during the 90-day period following 

2 the period in paragraph (5). 

3 (d) PROTECTION FROM ADVERSE TREATMENT.—For 

4 the purpose of encouraging members to provide complete 

5 information during the screenings under subsection (a) 

6 and to discourage members from stigmatizing participa7 tion in treatment for depression and other mental health 

8 problems, the Secretary of Defense shall not use the re9 sults of a screening under subsection (a) to— 

10 (1) prohibit a member from returning to the 

11 United States; 

12 (2) prohibit a member from being discharged 

13 from the armed forces; or 

14 (3) to involuntary discharge a member from the 

15 armed forces. 

16 (e) DEFENSE STUDY AND REPORT.— 

17 (1) STUDY.—The Secretary of Defense shall 

18 conduct a study— 

19 (A) to collect data on— 

20 (i) the number of licensed mental 

21 health providers who are employed by the 

22 Secretary; 

23 (ii) the number of members that each 

24 such provider is expected to screen and 

25 treat; 


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1 (iii) the expected retirement dates of 

2 such providers; 

3 (iv) the geographic location of such 

4 providers; and 

5 (v) the ability of members to access 

6 screening and treatment services offered by 

7 such providers; and 

8 (B) to evaluate whether redistributing such 

9 providers geographically, assigning different 

10 tasks to such providers, and hiring additional 

11 such providers would assist the Secretary in 

12 providing adequate mental health screening and 

13 treatment to members (including the mental 

14 health screenings required by this Act). 

15 (2) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 

16 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 

17 of Defense shall submit to the Congress a report on 

18 the results of the study conducted under paragraph 

19 (1). 

20 (f) DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.— 

21 (1) STUDY.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

22 shall conduct a study— 

23 (A) to collect data on— 


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1 (i) the number of licensed mental 

2 health providers who are employed by the 

3 Secretary; 

4 (ii) the number of veterans that each 

5 provider is expected to screen and treat; 

6 (iii) the expected retirement dates of 

7 such providers; 

8 (iv) the geographic location of such 

9 providers; and 

10 (v) the ability of veterans to access 

11 screening and treatment services offered by 

12 such providers; 

13 (B) to evaluate whether redistributing such 

14 providers geographically, assigning different 

15 tasks to such providers, and hiring additional 

16 such providers would assist the Secretary in 

17 providing adequate mental health treatment 

18 and screening services to veterans; and 

19 (C) to determine the projected cost of hir20 ing and retaining licensed mental health pro21 viders to be placed in each veteran hospital, 

22 community-based outpatient clinic, and facility 

23 operates under a contract to provide clinical 

24 services on behalf of the Department of Vet25 erans Affairs. 


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

2 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 

3 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Congress a 

4 report on the results of the study conducted under 

5 paragraph (1). 

6 SEC. 3. MANDATORY TBI SCREENINGS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall re8 quire that each member on active duty is screened for a 

9 traumatic brain injury by a licensed professional who is 

10 qualified to conduct such screening. 

11 (b) TIMING OF SCREENINGS.—With respect to a serv12 ice member, the screenings under subsection (a) shall be 

13 conducted— 

14 (1) as a component of each required physical 

15 exam; 

16 (2) one time during the 30-day period begin17 ning on the date such member is deployed such 

18 member is deployed to in support of a contingency 

19 operation (as defined in section 101(13) of title 10, 

20 United States Code); 

21 (3) one time during the 30-day period ending 

22 on the date on which such deployment is scheduled 

23 to end for such member; and 

24 (4) one time during the 90-day period following 

25 the date under paragraph (3). 


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1 SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND DEPARTMENT OF 

2 VETERANS AFFAIRS INFORMATION SHARING. 

3 Pursuant to and consistent with requirements of the 

4 Wounded Warrior Act (title XVI of Public Law 110–181) 

5 (including the requirements of section 1614 of that Act) 

6 and section 1720F of title 38, United States Code, the 

7 Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Af8 fairs shall establish a joint protocol to share existing and 

9 future reports concerning screenings conducted under this 

10 Act to help aid members and veterans who are 

11 transitioning from receiving health care and treatment 

12 through Department of Defense to receiving such care and 

13 services through the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Æ 


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