Honoring our Returning Veterans and Service Members Act of 2015

To direct the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to more effectively provide mental health resources for members of the Armed Forces and veterans at high risk of suicide, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Honoring our Returning Veterans and Service Members Act of 2015 2. Mental health resources for members of the Armed Forces and veterans (a) In General The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall more effectively provide mental health resources for members of the Armed Forces and veterans by jointly developing a methodology that identifies which members of the Armed Forces and veterans are at high risk of suicide. (b) Mental Health Resources (1) High Risk Members of the Armed Forces The Secretary of Defense shall use the results under subsection (c) to— (A) identify which units have a disproportionately high rate of suicide and suicide attempts; and (B) provide additional preventative and treatment resources for mental health for members of the Armed Forces who were deployed with the units identified under subparagraph (A). (2) High Risk Veterans The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall use the results under subsection (c) to— (A) identify which units have a disproportionately high rate of suicide and suicide attempts; and (B) provide additional preventative and treatment resources for mental health for veterans who were deployed with the units identified under subparagraph (A). (3) Preventative Mental Health Care The Secretary of Defense shall use the results under subsection (c) to— (A) identify the circumstances of deployments associated with increased vulnerability to suicide, including the length of deployment, the region and area of deployment, and the nature and extent to which there was contact with enemy forces; and (B) provide additional preventative mental health care to units who currently are, or will be, deployed under circumstances similar to those of subparagraph (A). (c) Methodology Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly develop a methodology to assess the following: (1) Rate of suicide and suicide attempts of members of the Armed Forces The Secretary of Defense shall assess the rate of suicide and suicide attempts of members of the Armed Forces of units that have been deployed in support of a contingency operation after September 11, 2001. (2) Rate of suicide and suicide attempts of veterans The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall assess the rate of suicide and suicide attempts of veterans of units that have been deployed in support of a contingency operation after September 11, 2001. (d) Reports On an annual basis, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate a report on the activities carried out under this section and the effectiveness of such activities. (e) Restriction on Use of Information Information disclosed or obtained pursuant to the provisions of this section may be used by officers, employees, and contractors of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs only for the purposes of, and to the extent necessary in, carrying out this section.

Summary: Honoring our Returning Veterans and Service Members Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop jointly a methodology that identifies which members of the Armed Forces and veterans are at high risk of suicide. DOD and the VA shall use this information to: (1) identify which units that were deployed in support of a post-September 11, 2001, contingency operation have a disproportionately high rate of suicide and suicide attempts, and (2) provide additional mental health preventative and treatment resources for veterans who were so deployed. The use of such information is restricted.