H. R. 2441 
One Hundred Seventeenth Congress 
of the 
United States of America 
AT THE FIRST SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Sunday, 
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-one 
An Act 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to expand the Rural Access Network 
for Growth Enhancement Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and 
to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study to 
assess certain mental health care resources of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
available to veterans who live in rural areas. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sgt. Ketchum Rural Veterans 
Mental Health Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF RURAL ACCESS NETWORK FOR GROWTH 
ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET-
ERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) EXPANSION.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall estab-
lish and maintain three new centers of the RANGE Program. 
(b) LOCATIONS.—The centers established under subsection (a) 
shall be located in areas determined by the Secretary based on— 
(1) the need for additional mental health care for rural 
veterans in such areas; and 
(2) interest expressed by personnel at facilities of the 
Department in such areas. 
(c) TIMELINE.—The Secretary shall establish the centers under 
subsection (a) during fiscal year 2022. 
(d) 
FUNDING.—There 
is 
authorized 
to 
be 
appropriated 
$1,200,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2024 to carry 
out this section. 
SEC. 3. GAO STUDY OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE FURNISHED BY THE 
SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO RURAL VETERANS. 
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General of the United 
States shall conduct a study to assess whether the Department 
of Veterans Affairs has sufficient resources to serve rural veterans 
who need covered mental health care. Such study shall include 
assessments of— 
(1) whether the mental health care furnished by the Sec-
retary (through resources including the RANGE Program, 
Enhanced 
RANGE 
Program, 
mental 
health 
residential 
rehabilitation treatment programs, inpatient mental health 
services, and PRR centers) is sufficient to meet the covered 
mental health care needs of rural veterans; 
(2) how best to expand and to appropriately locate resources 
described in paragraph (1);
H. R. 2441—2 
(3) whether to require the establishment of a PRR center 
at a medical facility of the Department that serves 1,000 or 
more veterans on the National Psychosis Registry; 
(4) the demand by rural veterans for mental health 
resources specified in paragraph (1); 
(5) the average wait time for a rural veteran for mental 
health resources specified in paragraph (1); and 
(6) how many rural veterans died by suicide or overdose— 
(A) while on a wait list for mental health resources 
specified in paragraph (1); and 
(B) during the term of the study. 
(b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 18 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 
submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 
House of Representatives a report containing the results of the 
study under this section. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘covered mental health care’’ means mental 
health care that is more intensive than traditional outpatient 
therapy. 
(2) The term ‘‘PRR center’’ means a psychosocial rehabilita-
tion and recovery center of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
(3) The term ‘‘RANGE Program’’ means the Rural Access 
Network for Growth Enhancement Program of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs. 
(4) The term ‘‘rural veteran’’ means a veteran who lives 
in a rural or highly rural area (including such an area in 
a Tribal or insular area), as determined through the use of 
the Rural-Urban Commuting Areas coding system of the 
Department of Agriculture. 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.