I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2189 
To require pre- and post-deployment mental health screenings for members 
of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 7, 2007 
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. DOGGETT, 
Mr. PASTOR, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Ms. CASTOR, Mrs. CAPPS, 
Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. STARK, Ms. MCCOLLUM
of Minnesota, Ms. 
SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. CAR-
SON, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 
ELLISON, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. SUTTON, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. 
CHRISTENSEN, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. TIERNEY, Ms. BORDALLO, 
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, and Mrs. JONES of Ohio) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in ad-
dition to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To 
require 
pre- 
and 
post-deployment 
mental 
health 
screenings for members of the Armed Forces, and for 
other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Sgt. Jonathan Schulze 
Military Health Services Improvement Act of 2007’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) 
More 
than 
250,000 
United 
States 
servicemembers are serving their country in Oper-
ation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Free-
dom. 
(2) There currently are more than 100,000 ac-
tivated National Guard and reserve component 
forces engaged in the war on terrorism. 
(3) According to the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, nearly one in three veterans who served in 
Operation Iraqi Freedom sought mental health care 
within one year after their return from combat in 
Iraq or Afghanistan. 
(4) The Department of Defense reports that 
more than 10 percent of all medical evacuations 
from Iraq and Afghanistan are for mental health 
reasons. The Department of Veterans Affairs has al-
ready seen and diagnosed more than 73,000 vet-
erans with a mental health condition at Veterans Af-
fairs hospitals, and more than 144,000 were pro-
vided mental health counseling for post-combat read-
justment problems. 
(5) The stigma associated with mental health 
treatment remains a significant obstacle to seeking 
mental health care and the Department of Defense 
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has not yet instituted a meaningful antistigma cam-
paign. 
(6) Untreated post-traumatic stress disorder 
and other mental health illnesses have been linked to 
severe social problems, including alcohol and drug 
abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, familial dis-
integration, and homelessness. 
SEC. 3. PRE- AND POST-DEPLOYMENT SCREENING PRO-
GRAM 
FOR 
MEMBERS 
OF 
THE 
ARMED 
FORCES. 
(a) PRE- AND POST-DEPLOYMENT EVALUATIONS.— 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe in 
regulations— 
(1) a requirement that members of the Armed 
Forces deploying to a combat theater receive a men-
tal health evaluation conducted in person by a quali-
fied mental health professional before their deploy-
ment; and 
(2) a requirement that members of the Armed 
Forces returning from service of more than 30 days 
in a combat theater or who were injured in a combat 
theater receive a combat stress evaluation conducted 
in person by a qualified mental health professional 
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within 30 days after the date on which the member 
returns from the combat theater. 
(b) MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS PROGRAM.— 
(1) PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Defense shall 
implement a program designed to— 
(A) raise awareness about mental health 
issues that members of the Armed Forces and 
their families may encounter during and after 
deployment of the member; and 
(B) reduce the stigma associated with 
mental health care. 
(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary, pursu-
ant to regulations, may enter into arrangements 
with an accredited college, university, hospital-based, 
or community-based mental health center to carry 
out the program under this subsection. The Sec-
retary shall ensure that the program is made avail-
able in foreign languages if necessary to aid com-
prehension among persons to be helped by the pro-
gram. 
(3) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall carry out 
this subsection not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(c) HOLD-HARMLESS FOR MENTAL HEALTH TREAT-
MENT.—In carrying out any mental health-related pro-
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gram, the Secretary shall ensure that inquiries about men-
tal health services shall not adversely affect an individual’s 
career. 
SEC. 4. MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS FOR DEPENDENTS. 
(a) PROGRAM.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 
shall develop a program to improve awareness of the avail-
ability of mental health services for, and warning signs 
about mental health problems in, dependents of members 
of the Armed Forces whose sponsor served or will serve 
in a combat theater during the previous or next 60 days. 
(b) MATTERS COVERED.—The program developed 
under subsection (a) shall be designed to— 
(1) increase awareness of mental health services 
available to dependents of members of the Armed 
Forces on active duty; 
(2) increase awareness of mental health services 
available to dependents of Reservists and National 
Guard members whose sponsors have been activated; 
and 
(3) increase awareness of mental health issues 
that may arise in dependents referred to in para-
graphs (1) and (2) whose sponsor is deployed to a 
combat theater. 
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