SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PRO-
GRAM TO PROVIDE GRANTS TO MEDICAL FA-
CILITIES 
FOR 
THE 
PROVISION 
OF 
CUL-
TURALLY 
COMPETENT, 
EVIDENCE-BASED 
MENTAL HEALTH CARE FOR VETERANS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall carry out a three-year pilot program under 
which the Secretary shall make grants to eligible mental 
health care providers for the provision of culturally com-
petent, evidence-based mental health care for veterans. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under the pilot program, a mental health care provider 
shall— 
(1) be a non-profit organization; 
(2) have operated at least one outpatient men-
tal health facility in the United States for a contin-
uous period of at least three years; and 
(3) submit to the Secretary an application that 
includes such information and assurances as the 
Secretary may require, including— 
(A) an identification of the outpatient fa-
cility or facilities where the provider will provide 
mental health care to veterans using the grant 
funds; 
(B) a plan under which at least one clini-
cian employed by the provider at each facility 
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for which a grant is made is trained to provide 
culturally competent veterans mental health 
care pursuant to the requirements established 
by the Secretary under subsection (f); and 
(C) an identification of the percentage of 
the operating budget for each such facility that 
was provided through Federal grants during the 
fiscal year preceding the year during which the 
application is submitted. 
(c) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The recipient of a grant 
under the pilot program shall use the grant— 
(A) to provide culturally competent, evi-
dence-based mental health care for veterans; 
(B) to operate an existing outpatient men-
tal health facility or establish a new outpatient 
mental health facility for the purpose of pro-
viding such care; and 
(C) to encourage veterans who are eligible 
for enrollment in the patient enrollment system 
under section 1705 of title 38, United States 
Code, to enroll in such system and to receive 
medical services furnished by the Department 
of Veterans Affairs. 
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(2) LIMITATIONS.—The recipient of a grant 
under the pilot program may not— 
(A) charge any veteran a fee associated 
with the receipt of mental health care; or 
(B) refuse to provide mental health care to 
any veteran on the basis that the veteran is not 
eligible for reimbursement for such care under 
a health plan contract or any Federal, State, or 
local government program. 
(3) REIMBURSEMENT.—Nothing in this sub-
section shall prevent the recipient of a grant under 
the pilot program from seeking or receiving reim-
bursement for all, or a portion, of the mental health 
care provided to a veteran, including reimbursement 
under a health plan contract, the Community Care 
Program of the Department under section 1703 of 
title 38, United States Care, or any other Federal, 
State, or local government program. 
(d) SELECTION OF FACILITIES.—In selecting out-
patient mental health facilities for the receipt of grants 
under the pilot program, the Secretary— 
(1) shall ensure that grants are distributed 
evenly among outpatient mental health facilities lo-
cated in rural and urban areas; 
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(2) may consider the proportion of veterans his-
torically served by the outpatient mental health fa-
cilities; and 
(3) may prioritize outpatient mental health fa-
cilities located in areas that the Secretary deter-
mines— 
(A) are medically underserved; 
(B) have large veteran populations; 
(C) are located near military installations; 
or 
(D) have large numbers of veterans at high 
risk of suicide. 
(e) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), no grant under the pilot pro-
gram for a facility for any fiscal year may ex-
ceed $1,500,000. 
(B) LIMITATION.—In the case of an out-
patient mental health facility for which at least 
50 percent of the operating budget of the facil-
ity for the preceding fiscal year was provided 
through Federal grants, no grant under the 
pilot program for the facility for any fiscal year 
may exceed the lesser of— 
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(i) 50 percent of the operating budget 
of the facility; or 
(ii) $1,500,000. 
(2) MULTIPLE
GRANTS.—The recipient of a 
grant under the pilot program— 
(A) may apply for, and receive, grants for 
more than one facility of the recipient for any 
fiscal year; and 
(B) may apply for, and receive, a grant for 
a facility that has already received a grant 
under the pilot program. 
(f) TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall 
establish the requirements for the training referred to in 
subsection (b)(2)(A). 
(g) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 
regulations to carry out this section, which shall include 
a requirement that each recipient of a grant under the 
pilot program shall— 
(1) demonstrate the capacity to provide ac-
countability; 
(2) demonstrate clinical outcomes; and 
(3) justify the effective use of any private in-
vestment funds or Federal grant funds through data 
collection and reporting metrics. 
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(h) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the com-
pletion of the pilot program under this section, the Sec-
retary shall submit to Congress a report on the pilot pro-
gram that includes the following: 
(1) The number of veterans who received men-
tal health care under the program. 
(2) The demographics of the veterans served. 
(3) An identification of the types of mental 
health care provided and the time period for which 
such care was provided. 
(4) An identification of program outcomes. 
(5) The number of veterans who received men-
tal health care under the program and subsequently 
enrolled in the patient enrollment system under sec-
tion 1705 of title 38, United States Code. 
(6) An identification of any obstacles faced by 
grant recipients in providing mental health care 
under the program. 
(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
out the pilot program under this section $20,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2025 through 2027. 
Æ 
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