I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3368 

To enhance benefits for survivors of certain former members of the Armed 

Forces with a history of post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic 

brain injury, to enhance availability and access to mental health counseling for members of the Armed Forces and veterans, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 28, 2009 

Ms. MARKEY of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committees 

on Armed Services and Ways and Means, 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 enhance benefits for survivors of certain former members 

of the Armed Forces with a history of post-traumatic 

stress disorder or traumatic brain injury, to enhance 

availability and access to mental health counseling for 

members of the Armed Forces and 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 ‘‘Honor Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR VETERANS FOR PUR2 SUIT OF GRADUATE AND POST-GRADUATE 

3 DEGREES IN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH 

4 SCIENCES. 

5 (a) SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.— 

6 (1) PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Veterans Af7 fairs shall carry out a program to provide scholar8 ships to qualifying veterans for pursuit of a grad9 uate or post-graduate degree in behavioral health 

10 sciences. 

11 (2) DESIGNATION.—The program carried out 

12 under this section shall be known as the ‘‘Depart13 ment of Veterans Affairs HONOR Scholarship Pro14 gram’’ (in this section referred to as the ‘‘scholar15 ship program’’). 

16 (b) QUALIFYING VETERANS.—For purposes of this 

17 section, a qualifying veteran is any veteran who— 

18 (1) during service on active duty in the Armed 

19 Forces, participated for such period as the Secretary 

20 of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Sec21 retary of Defense, shall specify for purposes of the 

22 scholarship program in a theater of combat or dur23 ing a contingency operation overseas; 

24 (2) was retired, discharged, separated, or re25 leased from service in the Armed Forces on or after 

26 a date (not earlier than August 2, 1990) specified 


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1 by the Secretary of Defense for purposes of the 

2 scholarship program; 

3 (3) at the time of the submittal of an applica4 tion to participate in the scholarship program, holds 

5 an undergraduate or graduate degree, as applicable, 

6 from an institution of higher education that qualifies 

7 the veteran for pursuit of a graduate or post-grad8 uate degree in behavioral sciences; and 

9 (4) meets such other qualifications as the Sec10 retary of Veterans Affairs may establish for pur11 poses of the scholarship program. 

12 (c) APPLICATION.—Each qualifying veteran seeking 

13 to participate in the scholarship program shall submit to 

14 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs an application therefor 

15 setting forth such information as the Secretary shall speci16 fy for purposes of the scholarship program. 

17 (d) AGREEMENT.—Each qualifying veteran selected 

18 by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for participation in 

19 the scholarship program shall enter into an agreement 

20 with the Secretary regarding participation in the scholar21 ship program. The agreement shall contain such terms 

22 and conditions as the Secretary shall specify for purposes 

23 of the scholarship program. 

24 (e) SCHOLARSHIPS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 

2 Affairs shall provide to each qualifying veteran who 

3 enters into an agreement under subsection (d) a 

4 scholarship for such number of academic years as 

5 the Secretary shall specify in the agreement for pur6 suit of a graduate or post-graduate degree in behav7 ioral health sciences at an institution of higher edu8 cation offering such degree that is approved by the 

9 Secretary for purposes of the scholarship program. 

10 (2) ELEMENTS.—The scholarship provided a 

11 qualifying veteran for an academic year shall consist 

12 of payment of the following: 

13 (A) Tuition of the qualifying veteran for 

14 pursuit of the graduate or post-graduate degree 

15 concerned in the academic year. 

16 (B) Reasonable educational expenses of the 

17 qualifying veteran (including fees, books, and 

18 laboratory expenses) in pursuit of such degree 

19 in the academic year. 

20 (C) A stipend in connection with the pur21 suit of such degree in the academic year in such 

22 amount as the Secretary shall specify in the 

23 agreement of the qualifying veteran under sub24 section (d). 


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1 (f) OBLIGATED SERVICE.—Each qualifying veteran 

2 who participates in the scholarship program shall, after 

3 completion of the graduate or post-graduate degree con4 cerned and as jointly provided by the Secretary of Vet5 erans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense in the agree6 ment of such qualifying veteran under subsection (d), per7 form service as follows: 

8 (1) Such service for the Department of Vet9 erans Affairs in connection with the furnishing of 

10 mental health services to veterans, and for such pe11 riod, as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

12 specify in the agreement. 

13 (2) Such service for the Department of Defense 

14 in connection with the furnishing of mental health 

15 services to members of the Armed Forces, and for 

16 such period, as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

17 shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, 

18 specify in the agreement. 

19 (3) Such combination of service described by 

20 paragraphs (1) and (2), and for such period, as the 

21 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, in consultation 

22 with the Secretary of Defense, specify in the agree23 ment. 

24 (g) BREACH OF AGREEMENT.—Each qualifying vet25 eran participating in the scholarship who fails to complete 


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1 satisfactorily the terms of the agreement of such quali2 fying veteran under subsection (d), whether through fail3 ure to obtain the graduate or post-graduate degree con4 cerned or failure to perform service required of the quali5 fying veteran under subsection (f), shall be liable to the 

6 United States in such form and manner as the Secretary 

7 of Veterans Affairs shall, in consultation with the Sec8 retary of Defense, specify in the agreement. 

9 (h) CONTINGENCY OPERATION DEFINED.—In this 

10 section, the term ‘‘contingency operation’’ has the mean11 ing given that term in section 101(a)(13) of title 10, 

12 United States Code. 

13 SEC. 3. PROGRAM OF EMPLOYMENT, TRAINING, AND DE14 PLOYMENT OF FORMER MEMBERS OF THE 

15 ARMED FORCES WITH COMBAT EXPERIENCE 

16 AS PSYCHIATRIC TECHNICIANS AND NURSES 

17 FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES IN 

18 DEPLOYMENT. 

19 (a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Defense 

20 shall carry out a program to employ and train qualifying 

21 former members of the Armed Forces as psychiatric tech22 nicians and nurses of the Department of Defense for the 

23 provision of mental health counseling and services to mem24 bers of the Armed Forces who are deployed to a combat 

25 zone. 


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1 (b) QUALIFYING FORMER MEMBERS OF THE ARMED

2 FORCES.—For purposes of this section, a qualifying 

3 former member of the Armed Forces is any member 

4 who— 

5 (1) during service on active duty in the Armed 

6 Forces, participated for such period as the Secretary 

7 shall specify for purposes of the program in a the8 ater of combat or during a contingency operation 

9 overseas; 

10 (2) was retired, discharged, separated, or re11 leased from service in the Armed Forces on or after 

12 a date (not earlier than August 2, 1990) specified 

13 by the Secretary for purposes of the program; and 

14 (3) meets such other qualifications as the Sec15 retary may establish for purposes of the program. 

16 (c) EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING.— 

17 (1) EMPLOYMENT.—Each qualifying former 

18 member of the Armed Forces selected by the Sec19 retary for participation in the program may be em20 ployed by the Secretary as a civilian employee of the 

21 Department of Defense for such minimum period as 

22 the Secretary considers appropriate for purposes of 

23 the program. 

24 (2) TRAINING.—Each qualifying former mem25 ber of the Armed Forces employed by the Secretary 


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1 under paragraph (1) shall be provided such training 

2 in the provision of mental health counseling and 

3 services to members of the Armed Forces deployed 

4 to a combat zone as the Secretary determines appro5 priate in order to qualify such former member to 

6 serve as a psychiatric technician or nurse, as appli7 cable, of the Department of Defense for the provi8 sion of such counseling and services to such mem9 bers of the Armed Forces. 

10 (3) SERVICE.—Upon the successful completion 

11 by a qualifying former member of the Armed Forces 

12 of training provided under paragraph (2), the Sec13 retary shall require the former member, as a psy14 chiatric technician or nurse (as applicable) of the 

15 Department of Defense, to provide such mental 

16 health counseling and services to members of the 

17 Armed Forces deployed to a combat zone as the Sec18 retary considers appropriate. 

19 (4) DEPLOYMENT TO COMBAT ZONE.—Each 

20 qualifying former member of the Armed Forces serv21 ing as a psychiatric technician or nurse of the De22 partment of Defense under paragraph (3) shall 

23 agree, as a condition of participation in the pro24 gram, to deploy to a combat zone to perform service 

25 as a psychiatric technician or nurse, as the case may 


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1 be, for members of the Armed Forces deployed to 

2 the combat zone for such period (if any), and under 

3 such terms and conditions, as the Secretary deter4 mines appropriate. 

5 (d) CONTINGENCY OPERATION DEFINED.—In this 

6 section, the term ‘‘contingency operation’’ has the mean7 ing given that term in section 101(a)(13) of title 10, 

8 United States Code. 

9 SEC. 4. RESTORATION OF AUTHORITY OF VETS CENTERS 

10 TO PROVIDE REFERRAL AND OTHER ASSIST11 ANCE UPON REQUEST TO FORMER MEMBERS 

12 OF THE ARMED FORCES NOT AUTHORIZED 

13 COUNSELING. 

14 Section 1712A of title 38, United States Code, is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) 

17 as subsections (d) through (g), respectively; and 

18 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol19 lowing new subsection (c): 

20 ‘‘(c) Upon receipt of a request for counseling under 

21 this section from any individual who has been discharged 

22 or released from active military, naval, or air service but 

23 who is not otherwise eligible for such counseling, the Sec24 retary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) provide referral services to assist such in2 dividual, to the maximum extent practicable, in ob3 taining mental health care and services from sources 

4 outside the Department; and 

5 ‘‘(2) if pertinent, advise such individual of such 

6 individual’s rights to apply to the appropriate mili7 tary, naval, or air service, and to the Department, 

8 for review of such individual’s discharge or release 

9 from such service.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES 

11 FOR COUNSELING AND RELATED MENTAL 

12 HEALTH SERVICES THROUGH VET CENTERS. 

13 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 1712A of title 38, United 

14 States Code, as amended by section 4, is further amend15 ed— 

16 (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as 

17 subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and 

18 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol19 lowing new subsection (f): 

20 ‘‘(f)(1) The Secretary shall, upon the request of a 

21 member of the Armed Forces, furnish the member through 

22 a center the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) In the case of a member of a regular com24 ponent of the Armed Forces, mental health services 

25 authorized to be provided under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(B) In the case of a member of a reserve com2 ponent of the Armed Forces, readjustment coun3 seling and related mental health services authorized 

4 to be provided under this section, including readjust5 ment counseling to assist the member in reinte6 grating into civilian life after demobilization from 

7 active duty in the Armed Forces. 

8 ‘‘(2) Any general mental and psychological assess9 ment furnished a member under this subsection shall in10 clude such criteria, and be performed in such manner and 

11 with such protections for the member, as the Secretary 

12 and the Secretary of Defense shall jointly prescribe for 

13 purposes of this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(3)(A) In the event a physician, psychologist, or 

15 other counselor furnishing counseling or mental health 

16 services to a member under this subsection determines 

17 that the member may be a danger to the member or oth18 ers, the physician, psychologist, or counselor, as the case 

19 may be, shall notify an appropriate official of a military 

20 medical treatment facility designated in the procedures 

21 under subparagraph (C) of the determination. 

22 ‘‘(B) An official receiving a notification under sub23 paragraph (A) with respect to a member shall transmit 

24 the notification to an appropriate officer in the chain of 


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1 command of the member, as designated in the procedures 

2 under subparagraph (C). 

3 ‘‘(C) The Secretary and the Secretary of Defense 

4 shall jointly prescribe procedures for notifications under 

5 this paragraph. The procedures shall include the following: 

6 ‘‘(i) A designation of the military medical treat7 ment facilities to which notice with respect to mem8 bers is to be submitted under subparagraph (A). 

9 ‘‘(ii) A specification of the officers who shall 

10 constitute appropriate officers in the chain of com11 mand of a member for purposes of the transmittal 

12 of notice under subparagraph (B). 

13 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall carry out this subsection 

14 pursuant to a memorandum of understanding jointly en15 tered into by the Secretary and the Secretary of De16 fense.’’. 

17 (b) OUTREACH ON ELIGIBILITY.—Subsection (g) of 

18 such section 1712A, as redesignated by subsection (a)(1), 

19 is further amended by inserting ‘‘and members of the 

20 Armed Forces’’ after ‘‘veterans’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. TREATMENT OF SUICIDES OF CERTAIN FORMER 

2 MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AS 

3 DEATHS IN LINE OF DUTY FOR PURPOSES OF 

4 ELIGIBILITY OF SURVIVORS FOR CERTAIN 

5 BENEFITS. 

6 (a) TREATMENT AS DEATH IN LINE OF DUTY OF

7 SUICIDES OF CERTAIN FORMER MEMBERS OF THE

8 ARMED FORCES.—The suicide of a former member of the 

9 Armed Forces described in subsection (b) that occurs dur10 ing the two-year period beginning on the date of the sepa11 ration or retirement of the former member from the 

12 Armed Forces shall be treated as a death in line of duty 

13 of a member of the Armed Forces on active duty in the 

14 Armed Forces for purposes of the eligibility of the sur15 vivors of the former member for the benefits described in 

16 subsection (c). 

17 (b) COVERED FORMER MEMBERS OF THE ARMED

18 FORCES.—A former member of the Armed Forces de19 scribed in this subsection is any former member of the 

20 Armed Forces with a medical history of a combat-related 

21 mental health condition or Post Traumatic Stress Dis22 order (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). 

23 (c) COVERED BENEFITS.—The benefits described in 

24 this subsection are the benefits as follows: 

25 (1) Burial benefits. 


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1 (2) Benefits under the Survivor Benefit Plan 

2 under subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 10, United 

3 States Code. 

4 (3) Benefits under the laws administered by the 

5 Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

6 (4) Benefits under the Social Security Act. 

7 (d) DATES FOR PURPOSES OF CERTAIN DETERMINA8 TIONS.— 

9 (1) DATE OF DEATH.—Except as provided in 

10 paragraph (2), for purposes of the benefits under 

11 this section, the date of death of a former member 

12 of the Armed Forces described by subsection (a) 

13 shall be the date of the separation or retirement of 

14 the former member from the Armed Forces. 

15 (2) DATE FOR NATURE OF ELIGIBILITY.—In 

16 determining the scope and nature of the entitlement 

17 a survivor of a former member of the Armed Forces 

18 described by subsection (a) to benefits under this 

19 section, the date of death of the former member 

20 shall be the date of the suicide of the former mem21 ber. 

22 (e) REFUND OF REDUCTION IN RETIRED PAY

23 UNDER SBP.—Any reduction in the retired pay of a 

24 former member of the Armed Forces described by sub25 section (a) under the Survivor Benefit Plan under subVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:18 Jul 30, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3368.IH H3368

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1 chapter II of chapter 73 of title 10, United States Code, 

2 during the period beginning on the date of the retirement 

3 of the former member from the Armed Forces and ending 

4 on the date of the suicide of the former member shall be 

5 refunded to the surviving spouse or children, as applicable, 

6 of the former member. 

7 SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORTS ON EFFECTIVENESS OF MENTAL 

8 HEALTH TRAINING AND RELATED COUN9 SELING UNDER REINTEGRATION PROGRAMS 

10 FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND 

11 VETERANS. 

12 (a) ANNUAL ASSESSMENTS.—Not later than 18 

13 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

14 annually thereafter, the Secretary of Defense and the Sec15 retary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly conduct a review 

16 and assessment of the programs of the Department of De17 fense and the Department of Veterans Affairs for the re18 integration of members of the Armed Forces and veterans 

19 into civilian life after retirement, discharge, or release 

20 from the Armed Forces in order to assess the extent of 

21 the effectiveness of the mental health resiliency training 

22 and transition counseling provided to members of the 

23 Armed Forces, veterans, and their families under such 

24 programs both before and after retirement, discharge, or 

25 release from the Armed Forces. 


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1 (b) REPORTS.—The Secretary of Defense and the 

2 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly submit to Con3 gress a report on each review and assessment conducted 

4 under subsection (a). Each report shall set forth the re5 sults of the review and assessment concerned and shall 

6 include such recommendations for legislative or adminis7 trative action as the Secretary of Defense with respect to 

8 Department of Defense programs, the Secretary of Vet9 erans Affairs with respect to Department of Veterans Af10 fairs programs, or the Secretary of Defense and the Sec11 retary of Veterans Affairs jointly consider appropriate. 

Æ 


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