Title: Post–9/11 Veteran Suicide Prevention Counseling Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Post-9/11 Veteran Suicide Prevention Counseling Act
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop a suicide risk management and prevention and lethal means training course that is culturally appropriate and addresses the concerns of firearm owners. The VA must make such training course available to members of the public and must update the course at least every two years.
Additionally, the VA must provide the most recent training course at least once every five years to each employee of the Veterans Health Administration who regularly interacts with veterans in the course of their employment.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2822 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2822

 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and maintain a 
suicide risk management and prevention and lethal means training course 
 for certain employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 7, 2019

 Ms. Duckworth introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and maintain a 
suicide risk management and prevention and lethal means training course 
 for certain employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Post-9/11 Veteran Suicide Prevention 
Counseling Act''.

SEC. 2. SUICIDE RISK MANAGEMENT AND PREVENTION AND LETHAL MEANS 
              TRAINING COURSE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Development.--
            (1) Initial development.--Not later than 180 days after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 
        Affairs, in consultation with entities described in subsection 
        (b), shall develop a suicide risk management and prevention and 
        lethal means training course that is culturally appropriate and 
        addresses the concerns of firearm owners.
            (2) Periodic updates.--The Secretary shall update the 
        training under this subsection not less frequently than once 
        every two years.
    (b) Entities Described.--The entities described in this subsection 
are the following:
            (1) The Secretary of Health and Human Services.
            (2) The National Institutes of Health.
            (3) Public and private institutions of higher education.
            (4) Experts in the assessment, treatment, and management of 
        suicidal tendencies.
            (5) Relevant professional associations.
            (6) Gun ownership groups, in order to reduce the stigma 
        associated with firearm ownership and safe storage.
    (c) Trainees; Frequency of Training.--The Secretary shall provide 
the most recent training developed under subsection (a) not less 
frequently than once every five years to each employee of the Veterans 
Health Administration who regularly interacts with veterans in the 
course of such employment.
    (d) Public Availability.--The Secretary shall make the training 
developed under subsection (a) available to members of the public.
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