I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 136 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct an independent review 
of the deaths of certain veterans by suicide, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 3, 2025 
Mr. BUCHANAN (for himself and Mr. CONNOLLY) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct an 
independent review of the deaths of certain veterans by 
suicide, 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 ‘‘Veteran Overmedica-
tion and Suicide Prevention Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 
2. 
DEPARTMENT 
OF 
VETERANS 
AFFAIRS 
INDE-
PENDENT REVIEW OF CERTAIN DEATHS OF 
VETERANS BY SUICIDE. 
(a) REVIEW REQUIRED.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs shall seek to enter into an agree-
ment with the National Academies of Sciences, En-
gineering, and Medicine under which the National 
Academies shall conduct a review of the deaths of all 
covered veterans who died by suicide during the five- 
year period ending on the date of the enactment of 
this Act, regardless of whether information relating 
to such deaths has been reported by the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The review required by para-
graph (1) shall include the following: 
(A) The total number of covered veterans 
who died by suicide during the five-year period 
ending on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(B) The total number of covered veterans 
who died by a violent death during such five- 
year period. 
(C) The total number of covered veterans 
who died by an accidental death during such 
five-year period. 
(D) A description of each covered veteran 
described in subparagraphs (A) through (C), in-
cluding age, gender, race, and ethnicity. 
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(E) A comprehensive list of prescribed 
medications and legal or illegal substances as 
annotated on toxicology reports of covered vet-
erans described in subparagraphs (A) through 
(C), specifically listing any medications that 
carried a black box warning, were prescribed for 
off-label use, were psychotropic, or carried 
warnings that included suicidal ideation. 
(F) A summary of medical diagnoses by 
physicians of the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs or physicians providing services to covered 
veterans through programs of the Department 
that led to the prescribing of medications re-
ferred to in subparagraph (E) in cases of post- 
traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain in-
jury, military sexual trauma, and other anxiety 
and depressive disorders. 
(G) The number of instances in which a 
covered veteran described in subparagraph (A), 
(B), or (C) was concurrently on multiple medi-
cations prescribed by physicians of the Depart-
ment or physicians providing services to vet-
erans through programs of the Department to 
treat post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic 
brain injury, military sexual trauma, other anx-
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iety and depressive disorders, or instances of 
comorbidity. 
(H) The number of covered veterans de-
scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (C) who 
were not taking any medication prescribed by a 
physician of the Department or a physician pro-
viding services to veterans through a program 
of the Department. 
(I) With respect to the treatment of post- 
traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain in-
jury, military sexual trauma, or other anxiety 
and depressive disorders, the percentage of cov-
ered veterans described in subparagraphs (A) 
through (C) who received a non-medication 
first-line treatment compared to the percentage 
of such veterans who received medication only. 
(J) With respect to the treatment of cov-
ered veterans described in subparagraphs (A) 
through (C) for post-traumatic stress disorder, 
traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, 
or other anxiety and depressive disorders, the 
number of instances in which a non-medication 
first-line treatment (such as cognitive behav-
ioral therapy) was attempted and determined to 
be ineffective for such a veteran, which subse-
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quently led to the prescribing of a medication 
referred to in subparagraph (E). 
(K) A description and example of how the 
Department determines and continually updates 
the clinical practice guidelines governing the 
prescribing of medications. 
(L) An analysis of the use by the Depart-
ment, including protocols or practices at med-
ical facilities of the Department, of systemati-
cally measuring pain scores during clinical en-
counters under the Pain as the 5th Vital Sign 
Toolkit of the Department and an evaluation of 
the relationship between the use of such meas-
urements and the number of veterans concur-
rently on multiple medications prescribed by 
physicians of the Department. 
(M) A description of the efforts of the De-
partment to maintain appropriate staffing levels 
for mental health professionals, such as mental 
health counselors, marriage and family thera-
pists, and other appropriate counselors, includ-
ing— 
(i) a description of any impediments 
to carry out the education, training, and 
hiring of mental health counselors and 
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