I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2441 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to expand the Rural Access 
Network for Growth Enhancement Program of the Department of Vet-
erans 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. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 12, 2021 
Mrs. AXNE (for herself, Mrs. HINSON, Mr. RYAN, Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS, Mr. 
FEENSTRA, and Mr. CASE) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to expand the 
Rural Access Network for Growth Enhancement Pro-
gram 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 Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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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 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) EXPANSION.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall establish and maintain three new centers of the 
RANGE Program. 
(b) LOCATIONS.—The centers established under sub-
section (a) shall be located in areas determined by the Sec-
retary 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 appro-
priated $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 
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the Department of Veterans Affairs has sufficient re-
sources 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 Secretary (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 men-
tal health care needs of rural veterans; 
(2) how best to expand and to appropriately lo-
cate resources described in paragraph (1); 
(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 
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(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 Comp-
troller General shall submit to the Committees on Vet-
erans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives 
a report containing the results of the study under this sec-
tion. 
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 psycho-
social rehabilitation and recovery center of the De-
partment 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 deter-
mined through the use of the Rural-Urban Com-
muting Areas coding system of the Department of 
Agriculture. 
Æ 
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