Title: Expanding the Families of Veterans Access to Mental Health Services Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Expanding the Families of Veterans Access to Mental Health Services Act
The bill expands eligibility for readjustment counseling and related mental health services, including through a Vet Center, to family members of a veteran or member of the Armed Forces who died by suicide.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5029 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5029

     To amend title 38, United States Code, to furnish Vet Center 
 readjustment counseling and related mental health services to members 
of the families of members or veterans of the Armed Forces who died by 
                      suicide, and other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 13, 2021

  Mr. Rouzer introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend title 38, United States Code, to furnish Vet Center 
 readjustment counseling and related mental health services to members 
of the families of members or veterans of the Armed Forces who died by 
                      suicide, and 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 ``Expanding the Families of Veterans 
Access to Mental Health Services Act''.

SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.

    Section 1712A(a)(1) of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)(ii)--
                    (A) in subclause (I), by striking ``and'';
                    (B) in subclause (II), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                                    ``(III) in the case of a veteran or 
                                member who died by suicide, to the 
                                degree that counseling furnished to 
                                such individual is found to aid in 
                                coping with the effects of such 
                                suicide.'';
            (2) in subparagraph (B)(i)(II)--
                    (A) in item (aa), by striking ``or'';
                    (B) in item (bb), by striking the period at the end 
                and inserting ``; or''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following;
                                            ``(cc) coping with the 
                                        effects of a suicide described 
                                        in subclause (III) of such 
                                        act.''; and
            (3) in subparagraph (C)(vii)--
                    (A) in subclause (I), by striking ``or'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subclause (II), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; or''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                                    ``(III) veteran or member of the 
                                Armed Forces who died by suicide.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by section 2 shall apply with respect to family 
members of a member or veteran who died by suicide before, on, or after 
the date of the enactment of this Act.
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