I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 26 
To direct the Secretary of Defense to adopt a program of professional and 
confidential screenings to detect mental health injuries acquired during 
deployment in support of a contingency operation and ultimately to 
reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 5, 2011 
Ms. SPEIER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans’ Af-
fairs, 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 to detect men-
tal health injuries acquired during deployment in support 
of a contingency operation and ultimately to reduce the 
incidence of suicide among veterans. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Mental 
Health Screening and Assessment Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the increasing rate of suicide among vet-
erans returning from Operation Enduring Freedom 
and Operation Iraqi Freedom is a serious problem; 
and 
(2) the Secretary of Defense should conduct 
mandatory, face-to-face and confidential mental 
health and traumatic brain injury screenings by a li-
censed medical professional, for each member of the 
Armed Forces, during the period beginning 90 days 
after the date on which the member completes a de-
ployment in support of a contingency operation and 
ending 180 days after such date. 
SEC. 3. MANDATORY, FACE-TO-FACE AND CONFIDENTIAL 
SCREENINGS 
FOR 
SUICIDE 
PREVENTION 
AMONG VETERANS. 
(a) MANDATORY SCREENINGS.—The Secretary of 
Defense shall carry out a mandatory, face-to-face, and 
confidential mental health and traumatic brain injury 
screening conducted by a licensed medical professional, for 
each member of the Armed Forces, during the period be-
ginning 90 days after the date on which the member com-
pletes a deployment in support of a contingency operation 
and ending 180 days after such date. 
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(b) REQUIREMENTS OF SCREENING.—The screenings 
required by subsection (a) shall be designed to— 
(1) provide the members of the Armed Forces 
with an objective mental health and traumatic brain 
injury standard to screen for suicide risk factors; 
(2) ease the members’ transitions by allowing 
them to be honest in their assessments; 
(3) battle the stigma of depression and mental 
health problems among service personnel and vet-
erans; and 
(4) ultimately reduce the prevalence of suicide 
among veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Op-
eration Enduring Freedom. 
(c) RETURN TO UNITED STATES.—The Secretary of 
Defense may not prohibit a member of the Armed Forces 
from returning to the United States by reason of any re-
sult or determination made pursuant to a screening con-
ducted under subsection (a). 
(d) REQUIREMENT FOR DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
AND DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO SHARE IN-
FORMATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH SCREENINGS.— 
Pursuant to and consistent with requirements of the 
Wounded Warrior Act (title IV of Public Law 110–181; 
10 U.S.C. 1071 note), and section 1614 of that Act in 
particular, and section 1720F of title 38, United States 
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Code, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs shall establish a joint protocol to share exist-
ing and future reports from confidential mental health 
screenings conducted under this section to help aid mem-
bers of the Armed Forces in their transition from health 
care and treatment provided by the Department of De-
fense to health care and treatment provided by the De-
partment of Veterans Affairs. 
(e) CONTINGENCY OPERATION.—For the purposes of 
this Act, the term ‘‘contingency operation’’ has the mean-
ing given that term under section 101(13) of title 10, 
United States Code. 
Æ 
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