Mental Health Exposure Military Official Record Act of 2014

Bill: 113-hr-5336
Sponsor: Rep. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL-8]
Introduced: 2014-07-31 in the House
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Assault and harassment offenses
Conflicts and wars
Crime victims
Crimes against women
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Department of Defense
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Evidence and witnesses
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Health information and medical records
Military education and training
Military law
Military operations and strategy
Military personnel and dependents
National Guard and reserves
Neurological disorders
Personnel records
Sex offenses
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2014-07-31
text: 
Mental Health Exposure Military Official Record Act of 2014 - Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to establish a significant event tracker (SET) system to track and report individual exposures to traumatic events for members of the Armed Forces, including reserve components, to show evidence of possible trauma incurred during their service and to address mental health issues.
 
Authorizes reportable events to be entered by: (1) unit commanders and subunit leaders when an event affects the entire unit or subunit, (2) a medical treatment facility when an event affects a member undergoing treatment for an injury identified by military medical personnel or as reported by a member to such an individual, and (3) military law enforcement when an event involves victimization or witnessing of a sexual assault.
 
Defines &quot;reportable event&quot; to include: (1) kinetic combat patrol; (2) witnessed loss of life, dismemberment, or significant physical injury in a combat operation, expeditionary operation, or peacetime regular training; (3) traumatic brain injury; and (4) victimization or witnessing of a sexual assault. 
 
Requires a secure central tracking database to be established as the central repository for all reportable events.
 
Requires a unit's commanding officer to review and determine the disposition of certain reportable events by assigning designations indicating whether an event is approved, contested, or denied. Requires all reportable events to be entered in the central database regardless of designation. 
 
Permits access to such database by: (1) medical treatment facilities consulting for diagnosis; and (2) military law enforcement and criminal investigative services for purposes of obtaining a limited summary (excluding specific information about events, evidence, or members' private personal information) to diagnose patterns and trends related to crimes committed inside their jurisdiction. 
 
Allows, with the member's consent, a member's complete SET record to be reviewed by the member's: (1) military and civilian legal representatives, unit commander, or military judge in military disciplinary or judicial proceedings; and (2) civilian legal representatives in non-military proceedings. Directs the Secretary to provide guidance for accessing records of servicemembers who are mentally incapable of providing their own consent.
 
Requires the official SET record of a member to be used by: (1) the Medical Evaluation Board or Physical Evaluation Board in the case of a member preparing for medical retirement due to injury or other conditions, (2) the medical officer of the member's parent unit in the case of a member preparing for a non-medical discharge or retirement, and (3) a benefits specialist in the case of a member initiating a Benefits Delivery at Discharge claim.
 
Requires, upon a member's separation from service in the Armed Forces, that copies of the member's SET record be distributed to: (1) the separating member; (2) the separating member's service personnel and medical file; (3) the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA); and (4) if specifically designated by the member, the veteran affairs agency of the veteran's state and any other veterans service organization.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-07-31
text: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2014-07-31
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2014-07-31
text: Introduced in House