Title: Promoting Coordination for Veteran Suicide Prevention Act of 2020
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Promoting Coordination for Veteran Suicide Prevention Act of 2020
This bill requires the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to jointly review and report on the records of each former member of the Armed Forces who died by suicide within one year of separation from the Armed Forces during the five-year period preceding the enactment of this bill.
The bill also requires the VA to report on the Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health—Veterans Enhanced Treatment (REACH VET) program to assess, among other elements, the impact of the program on rates of suicide among veterans.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3195 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3195

   To require the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs to review the records of former members of the Armed Forces who 
die by suicide within one year of separation from the Armed Forces and 
to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit a report on the 
                           REACH VET program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 15, 2020

Mr. Cassidy (for himself and Mr. Tester) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs to review the records of former members of the Armed Forces who 
die by suicide within one year of separation from the Armed Forces and 
to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit a report on the 
                           REACH VET program.

    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 ``Promoting Coordination for Veteran 
Suicide Prevention Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. REVIEW OF RECORDS OF FORMER MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES WHO DIE 
              BY SUICIDE WITHIN ONE YEAR OF SEPARATION FROM THE ARMED 
              FORCES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall jointly review the records of each former member 
of the Armed Forces who died by suicide within one year of separation 
from the Armed Forces during the five-year period preceding the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Elements.--The review required by subsection (a) with respect 
to a former member of the Armed Forces shall include consideration of 
the following:
            (1) If the Department of Defense had previously identified 
        the former member as being at risk for suicide and if that 
        identification had been communicated to the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs.
            (2) What risk factors were present with respect to the 
        former member and how those risk factors correlated to the 
        circumstances of the death of the former member.
            (3) If the former member was eligible to receive health 
        care services from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
            (4) If the former member received health care services, 
        including mental health care services, from a facility of the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs, including readjustment 
        counseling services, following separation from the Armed 
        Forces.
            (5) If the former member had received a mental health 
        waiver during service in the Armed Forces.
            (6) The employment status, housing status, marital status, 
        age, rank within the Armed Forces (such as enlisted or 
        officer), and branch of service within the Armed Forces of the 
        former member.
            (7) If support services, specified by the type of service 
        (such as employment, mental health, etc.), were provided to the 
        former member during their period of separation from the Armed 
        Forces, disaggregated by--
                    (A) services furnished by the Department of 
                Defense, including through contracts;
                    (B) services furnished by the Department of 
                Veterans Affairs, including through contracts; and
                    (C) services not covered under subparagraph (A) or 
                (B).
    (c) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense and the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly submit to the 
        appropriate committees of Congress an aggregated report on the 
        results of the review conducted under subsection (a).
            (2) Appropriate committees of congress defined.--In this 
        subsection, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
        means--
                    (A) The Committee on Armed Services and the 
                Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate; and
                    (B) The Committee on Armed Services and the 
                Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of 
                Representatives.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON REACH VET PROGRAM OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 
to Congress a report on the REACH VET program.
    (b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall include 
the following:
            (1) An assessment of the impact of the REACH VET program on 
        rates of suicide among veterans.
            (2) An assessment of how limits within the REACH VET 
        program, such as caps on the number of veterans who may be 
        flagged as high risk, are adjusted for differing rates of 
        suicide across the country.
            (3) A detailed explanation, with evidence, for why the 
        conditions included in the model used by the REACH VET program 
        were chosen, including an explanation as to why certain 
        conditions, such as bipolar disorder II, were not included even 
        though they show a similar rate of risk for suicide as other 
        conditions that were included.
            (4) An assessment of the feasibility of incorporating 
        certain economic data held by the Veterans Benefits 
        Administration into the model used by the REACH VET program, 
        including financial data and employment status, which research 
        indicates may have an impact on risk for suicide.
    (c) REACH VET Program Defined.--In this section, the term ``REACH 
VET program'' means the Recovery Engagement and Coordination for 
Health--Veterans Enhanced Treatment program of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs.
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