zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Families for Foster Youth Stamp Act of 2015

 Requires the United States Postal Service, for a period of at least four years, to provide for the issuance and sale of a semipostal in order to increase funding for effective programs targeted at improving permanency outcomes for youth in foster care.

Requires any amounts becoming available from the sale of the semipostal to be transferred to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for programs and activities under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 that specifically target improvement in permanency outcomes for youth in foster care through adoption, guardianship, or kinship care.

Date: 2015-05-07
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Rural Postal Act of 2015 

Imposes a two-year moratorium on the closing or consolidation of any postal facility (i.e, a processing and distribution center, processing and distribution facility, network distribution center, or other facility that is operated by the U.S. Postal Service [USPS], the primary function of which is to sort and process mail). Sets forth matters which the USPS must consider in making a determination to close or consolidate a postal facility, including the effect of the closing or consolidation on the affected community, and for using an alternate means of transportation contract. Allows any person served by a postal facility to appeal a closing or consolidation to the Postal Regulatory Commission.

Preserves the current six-day mail delivery schedule.

Sets forth criteria for the closing or consolidation of rural post offices. Imposes a one-year moratorium on the discontinuation of a rural post office.

Grants a right of appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board to any USPS officer or employer who: (1) is not represented by a recognized bargaining representative; and (2) is in a supervisory, professional, technical, clerical, administrative, or managerial position covered by the Executive and Administrative Schedule.

Establishes in the USPS the position of Chief Morale Officer who shall oversee USPS employees, including managers, and develop national initiatives that address working conditions, staffing, communication, and training.

Establishes the Rural Postal Service Advisory Commission to provide strategic guidance on enhancing and protecting postal services in rural areas and to foster innovative thinking to address challenges facing the USPS in enhancing and protecting such services.

Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to the USPS considering options for delivery vehicles in rural areas, providing wireless broadband Internet access service in rural post offices, and maintaining door or curbside delivery in lieu of centralized delivery.

Date: 2015-07-09
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Postal Innovation Act

This bill expands the powers of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) by allowing it to offer nonpostal services, including financial services, warehousing, public Internet access, experimental postal products market testing, shipment of beer, wine, and spirits, and community support services. The bill also authorizes USPS to: (1) furnish property and services to states, local governments, and tribal governments; and (2) conduct a pilot program to assess the most cost-effective implementation of providing nonpostal services to communities through public-private partnerships at post offices in five cities, including at least one post office in a rural area and one in an urban area.

The bill authorizes USPS to enter into contracts to upgrade its fleet of vehicles to increase long-term savings by reducing collision, maintenance, fuel, or other costs. USPS is required to develop fuel economy guidelines for its vehicles and to reduce the petroleum consumption of its vehicles by not less than 2% annually through the end of FY2025.

USPS may use cost savings from offering nonpostal services to reinvest in innovation, research and development, and operations. USPS must use commercially available crash avoidance technologies to improve the safety of its vehicle fleet.

The bill requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on USPS providing access to public broadband Internet service and Internet voting.

Date: 2015-07-23
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
This bill directs the U.S. Postal Service to issue a Battle of Midway 75th Anniversary Semipostal Stamp, to be made available to the public for one year, beginning not later than June 4, 2017.

Amounts from the sale of this semipostal stamp shall be transferred to the Department of Defense to contribute to the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Midway.

Date: 2016-03-03
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act of 2016 or the STOP Act of 2016

This bill amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to make the Postmaster General or Postmaster General designee, including a person holding a valid customs broker's license, the importer of record for non-letter class mail imported into the United States.

The term "non-letter class mail" means any product of the U.S. Postal Service or a Universal Postal Union designated operator that is provided pursuant to:

 the Universal Postal Union's Parcel Post Regulations and Final Protocol; or the Universal Postal Union's Letter Post Regulations and Final Protocol, except small letters, as in effect upon enactment of this bill. The bill amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to impose a duty of $1 on each item of non-letter class mail imported into the United States.

The bill amends the Trade Act of 2002 to direct the Department of the Treasury to require the Postmaster General to provide for the advanced electronic transmission to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection of certain information on non-letter class mail imported into the United States.

Date: 2016-09-07
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Gold Star Families Forever Stamp Act

This bill directs the Postmaster General to provide for the issuance of a forever stamp to honor the sacrifices of families who have lost a loved one who was a member of the Armed Forces in combat.

Date: 2016-09-28
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Post Office Discontinuance Accountability Act of 2016

This bill establishes procedures under which the United States Postal Service (USPS) may carry out emergency suspensions of post offices because of a natural disaster, damage to or destruction of a post office, or a lack of qualified personnel to operate it or adequate measures to safeguard it.

A District Manager implementing an emergency suspension must: (1) provide immediate notice to the Headquarters Review Coordinator or the Field Performance office, local officials of the USPS, and customers; (2) establish alternate service as quickly as possible; (3) temporarily reassign each employee of the post office; and (4) form a suspension review team, which shall review the suspension and recommend that the suspension continue or that the post office reopen.

If the team recommends that the suspension continue, the District Manager shall either initiate discontinuance procedures for the post office or publish a plan to restore service within 180 days. If restoration is delayed, the District Manager must publish notice and either host a public forum in the affected community or initiate discontinuance procedures.

The District Manager shall immediately notify the affected community when a post office is reopened or service is restored.

 The bill authorizes the USPS to establish an alternative process to suspend postal services to a community based on the expiration of a lease or rental agreement for a post office. The District Manager shall take specified steps to: (1) negotiate an extension of an expiring agreement, the sale of the post office to the USPS, or a new agreement for postal service; (2) provide for the disruption of service if the negotiations fail and for the restoration of service; or (3) initiate discontinuance procedures.

Date: 2016-09-28
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Strengthening the Department of Homeland Security Secure Mail Initiative Act

This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to provide an option under the Secure Mail Initiative under which, for payment of a fee recouping costs, a person to whom a document is sent under such initiative may require the U.S. Postal Service to obtain a signature from that person in order to deliver the document.

Date: 2016-12-01
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Emergency management
Audrey Nerenberg Act - Amends the Missing Children's Assistance Act to include within the definition of child under such Act an individual whose mental capacity is less than 18 years of age as determined by an appropriate medical authority.

Date: 2007-01-05
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Amends federal veterans' benefits provisions to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in providing counseling and other mental health services to a veteran who has limited proficiency in English, to ensure that such services are available in both English and a language in which that veteran is proficient, if requested by the veteran. Requires the Secretary to implement a system by which persons with limited English proficiency can access services provided by the Department of Veterans consistent with, and without unduly burdening, the Department's fundamental mission. Requires a report from the Secretary to the congressional veterans' committees on the implementation by the Department's Veterans Health Administration of a specified directive to implement prohibitions on discrimination on the basis of national origin for persons with limited English proficiency in federally-conducted programs and activities and in federal financial-assisted programs.

Date: 2007-01-17
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Keeping Families Together Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to award competitive matching grants to states to establish systems of care to provide mental health treatment and services to all children who are in the custody of the state or at-risk of entering into the custody of the state for the purpose of receiving mental health services. Requires states to use grant funds for certain activities, including to: (1) expand public health insurance programs to cover community-based mental health and family support services for such children and their families that will be sustainable after the grant has expired; (2) provide outreach and public education concerning available programs and activities; and (3) provide training and professional development for personnel who work with such children. Requires the Administrator to establish a task force to examine: (1) problems of mental health in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems; (2) issues with respect to access by children and youth to mental health services; and (3) the role of federal agencies in promoting access by children and youth to mental health services.

Date: 2007-01-24
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Families
Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of marriage and family therapist services generally, and particularly those provided in rural health clinics and in hospice programs. Amends Medicare part C (Miscellaneous) to exclude such services from the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system. Authorizes marriage and family therapists to develop discharge plans for post-hospital services.

Date: 2007-02-05
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Protecting Children's Health in Schools Act of 2007 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish requirements for providing and receiving reimbursement for school-based health care for children, including children with special needs, and the related administrative and transportation costs covered under Medicaid. Includes health care provided through Medicaid managed care organizations.Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Education, acting jointly, to develop and implement a uniform methodology for claims under this Act.

Date: 2007-02-13
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to repeal the exclusion from medical assistance under the Medicaid program of items and services for patients in an institution for mental diseases.

Date: 2007-02-16
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit treatment limits or the imposition of financial requirements on mental health and substance-related disorder benefits in group health plans which are not similarly imposed on substantially all medical and surgical benefits in any category of items or services under such plans.Directs the Comptroller General to study the effect of the implementation of this Act on various aspects of the health care system, including the cost of and access to health insurance coverage, the quality of health care, Medicare, Medicaid, and state and local mental health and substance abuse treatment spending, and spending on public services.

Date: 2007-03-07
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Post-Abortion Depression Research and Care Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), to expand and intensify NIMH research and related activities with respect to post-abortion depression and psychosis. Requires the Director of NIMH to: (1) conduct or support research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and to find a cure for, such post-abortion conditions; and (2) conduct a study to determine the incidence and prevalence of cases of post-abortion conditions and the symptoms, severity, and duration of such cases, toward the goal of more fully identifying the characteristics of such cases and developing diagnostic techniques. Requires the Secretary to make grants to establish, operate, and coordinate effective and cost-efficient systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with such post-abortion conditions.

Date: 2007-03-09
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Seniors Access to Mental Health Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide, by a gradual increase in the percentage of expenses considered incurred expenses, for a gradual reduction (from 50% to the standard 20%) by 2013 of copayment rates for outpatient psychiatric services under the Medicare program.

Date: 2007-03-19
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of marriage and family therapist services generally, and particularly those provided in rural health clinics and in hospice programs, and mental health counselor services under part B of the Medicaid program. Amends Medicare part C (Miscellaneous) to exclude such services from the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system.Authorizes marriage and family therapists to develop discharge plans for post-hospital services.

Date: 2007-03-20
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Medicare Mental Health Modernization Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for: (1) elimination of the lifetime limit on inpatient mental health services; (2) parity in treatment for outpatient mental health services; (3) coverage of intensive residential services under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and of intensive outpatient services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance); (4) exclusion of clinical social worker services from coverage under the Medicare skilled nursing facility prospective payment system; and (5) coverage of marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services under Medicare. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to Congress on whether the criteria for coverage of any therapy service or any outpatient mental health care service under Medicare unduly restricts the access to such a service of any Medicare beneficiary with Alzheimer's disease or a related mental illness because the coverage criteria requires the Medicare beneficiary to display continuing clinical improvement to continue to receive the service.

Date: 2007-03-23
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Positive Aging Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to : (1) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to public and private nonprofit entities for projects to demonstrate ways of integrating mental health services for older adults into primary care settings and for multidisciplinary geriatric mental health outreach teams in community settings where older adults reside or receive social services; (2) require the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services to designate a Deputy Director for Older Adult Mental Health Services to address the mental health needs of older adults; (3) require the inclusion of representatives of older adults and their families and geriatric mental health professionals on the Advisory Council for the Center; (4) designate as a project of national significance the treatment of older adults with substance-related disorders; and (5) require state plans under the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant program to describe outreach to, and services for, older individuals and individuals who are homeless and living in rural areas.

Date: 2007-03-23
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Expanding the Promise for Individuals With Autism Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) convene, on behalf of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, a Treatments, Interventions, and Services Evaluation Task Force to evaluate evidence-based biomedical and behavioral treatments and services for individuals with autism; (2) establish a multi-year demonstration grant program for states to provide evidence-based autism treatments, interventions, and services. (3) establish planning and demonstration grant programs for adults with autism; (4) award grants to states for access to autism services following diagnosis; (5) award grants to University Centers of Excellence for Developmental Disabilities to provide services and address the unmet needs of individuals with autism and their families; (6) make grants to protection and advocacy systems to address the needs of individuals with autism and other emerging populations of individuals with disabilities; and (7) award a grant to a national nonprofit organization for the establishment and maintenance of a national technical assistance center for autism services and information dissemination.Directs the Comptroller General to issue a report on the financing of autism services and treatments.

Date: 2007-04-17
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to contract with a qualified community mental health center for the provision of veterans' mental health services.

Date: 2007-05-03
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Sgt. Jonathan Schulze Military Health Services Improvement Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to prescribe a requirement that members of the Armed Forces: (1) deploying to a combat theater receive a pre-deployment mental health evaluation conducted by a qualified mental health professional; and (2) returning from service of more than 30 days in a combat theater, or injured in a combat theater, receive a post-deployment combat stress evaluation conducted by a qualified mental health professional. Directs the Secretary to implement a program designed to: (1) raise awareness about mental health issues that members may encounter during and after deployment; and (2) reduce the stigma associated with mental health care. Directs the Secretary to develop a program to improve awareness of the availability of mental health services for, and warning signs about mental health problems in, dependents of members who served or will serve in a combat theater during the previous or next 60 days. Requires such program to include a toll-free number and informational website. Directs the Secretary: (1) and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into a memorandum of understanding to improve the transition of mental health-related cases from the Department of Defense (DOD) to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA); (2) of Veterans Affairs to implement a pilot program to treat female victims of combat stress; (3) to create an information clearinghouse to improve the availability of information about mental health professionals who treat combat stress; and (4) to provide for the availability (for afour-year period) of mental health services under the TRICARE program (a DOD managed health care program) for reserve personnel who performed certain active duty (and their family members).

Date: 2007-05-07
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Suicide Prevention Hotline Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award a grant of not more than three years in duration to an eligible entity to establish, publicize, and operate a national toll-free telephone number to serve as a suicide prevention hotline targeted to and staffed predominately by veterans.

Date: 2007-05-08
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program to provide veterans' readjustment counseling and related mental health services through the use of mobile Vet Centers. Requires the Secretary to establish two mobile Vet Centers in each of five specified Veterans Integrated Service Network areas.

Date: 2007-05-08
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Parental Consent Act of 2007 - Prohibits federal funds from being used to establish or implement any universal or mandatory mental health, psychiatric, or socioemotional screening program. Prohibits federal education funds from being used to pay any local educational agency or other instrument of government that uses the refusal of a parent or legal guardian to provide consent to mental health screening as the basis of a charge of child abuse, child neglect, medical neglect, or education neglect until the agency or instrument demonstrates that it is no longer using such refusal as a basis of such charge.Defines a screening program under this Act as any mental health screening program in which a set of individuals is automatically screened without regard to whether there was a prior indication of a need for mental health treatment, including: (1) any program of state incentive grants to implement recommendations in the July 2003 report of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, the State Early Childhood Comprehensive System, grants for TeenScreen, and the Foundations for Learning Grants; and (2) any student mental health screening program that allows mental health screening of individuals under 18 years of age without the express, written, voluntary, informed consent of the parent or legal guardian of the individual involved.

Date: 2007-05-17
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Mental Health Care for Our Wounded Warriors Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) members of the Armed Forces (members) deserve the best possible treatment for mental and physical illnesses and injuries sustained while in military service; (2) members should have access to mental health providers; (3) mental health disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) should be treated with an urgency similar to physical ailments incurred by members; (4) there is a need to recruit, train, and retain more mental health care professionals to diagnose and treat members; and (5) there is a continued need for research, new treatments, and best practices for treating PTSD, as well as a long-term strategy for recruiting, training, and retaining the mental health workforce of the Department of Defense (DOD). Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish at least two centers of excellence in military mental health for, among other things, the development and implementation of DOD strategy for the prevention, identification, and treatment of combat-related mental health conditions, with an emphasis on PTSD and traumatic brain injury. Requires a report from the Secretary to the congressional defense committees on appropriate actions to address current personnel shortages in the DOD mental health workforce.

Date: 2007-06-07
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Medicare Marriage and Family Therapist Services Improvement Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of marriage and family therapist services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) and for coverage of marriage and family therapist services provided in rural health clinics and hospice programs. Amends Medicare part C (Miscellaneous) to exclude such services from the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system. Authorizes marriage and family therapists to develop discharge plans for post-hospital services.

Date: 2007-06-11
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Mental Health Services in Public Health Emergencies Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services, to make grants to: (1) states and political subdivisions to provide mental health services in response to public health emergencies; and (2) states to develop statewide plans for providing such services and to train personnel to implement such plan effectively.Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to establish the National Mental Health Crisis Response Technical Assistance Center to: (1) provide consultation and technical assistance to the Director and state and local governments on developing and implementing plans for providing mental health services in response to public health emergencies; (2) develop policy guidelines on mental health concerns related to crisis incidents and develop recommendations for proposed regulations and legislative proposals; (3) develop and conduct training events and conferences on mental health needs of disaster victims and witnesses; (4) serve as the principal clearinghouse for information concerning the mental health aspects of public health emergencies; and (5) provide onsite technical expertise during public health emergencies.Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to award grants for the training of health professionals with respect to the treatment of individuals who are victims of disaster.

Date: 2007-06-11
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a program to provide to veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, particularly veterans who served in such Operations while in the National Guard and reserves: (1) peer outreach and support services; (2) readjustment counseling and related services; and (3) mental health services. Directs the Secretary to also provide to immediate family members of such veterans, during the three-year period following the return of the veterans from such a deployment, education, support, counseling, and mental health services to assist in: (1) readjustment to civilian life; (2) recovery from an injury or illness incurred during such deployment; and (3) readjustment of the family following the veteran's return.Authorizes the Secretary to contract with community health centers and other qualified entities to provide such services in areas not adequately served by health care facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).Requires the Secretary to: (1) contract for a program to train veterans to provide the peer outreach and support services; and (2) conduct a training program for clinicians of community health centers and entities contracted to provide such services.Extends the eligibility for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for veterans who served on active duty in a theater of combat operations from two to five years after their discharge or release from such duty.

Date: 2007-06-12
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
TRICARE Mental Health Services Enhancement Act - Amends the TRICARE program (a Department of Defense (DOD) managed health care program) to authorize the provision of mental health counseling for TRICARE participants. Authorizes the provision of mental health services in DOD clinical trials. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 to authorize the Secretary of Defense to enter into personal service contracts with mental health counselors. Includes mental health counselors within DOD licensure requirements for health-care professionals.

Date: 2007-06-15
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Heroes at Home Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) establish a program on training and certification of family caregivers of veterans and members with traumatic brain injury (TBI); and (2) conduct outreach to enhance awareness of veterans and the public about the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and TBI and the services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to veterans with such symptoms. Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs to jointly: (1) establish a demonstration project to assess the feasibility and advisability of using telehealth technology to assess cognitive functioning of members who have sustained head trauma in order to improve their diagnosis and treatment; and (2) conduct an ongoing study of all matters relating to the telehealth and telemental health services of the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

Date: 2007-07-16
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2008 - (Sec. 3) Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to increase the authorization of appropriations for the grant program for adult and juvenile collaboration for access to adequate mental health treatment and to extend such funding through FY2014. Directs the Attorney General to give priority to grant applications that promote effective strategies to identify and treat mentally-ill offenders and meet other criteria.(Sec. 4) Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to states, local governments, Indian tribes and tribal organizations for training programs and other services to assist law enforcement officers and campus security personnel in responding appropriately to incidents involving mentally-ill individuals. Authorizes appropriations for FY2008-FY2014. (Sec. 5) Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to states, local governments, Indian tribes and tribal organizations to provide services to female offenders with a mental illness, including mental health treatment, intensive case management services, and family support services. Authorizes appropriations for FY2008-FY2014. (Sec. 6) Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to states, local governments, Indian tribes and tribal organizations to provide services for mentally-ill offenders, including: (1) assistance to correctional facilities for identifying mentally-ill offenders and for providing treatment plans for them; (2) local task forces to assist such offenders in reentry into the community; (3) housing options for such offenders; (4) development of community crisis services; and (5) links with local community mental health providers for assisting mentally-ill offenders with services prior to release from a correctional facility. Authorizes appropriations for FY2008-FY2014.(Sec. 7) Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to assist states, local governments, territories, and Indian tribes in planning and coordinating treatment programs for offenders with mental illnesses. Authorizes appropriations for FY2008-FY2013.(Sec. 8) Reauthorizes the mental health courts grant program for FY2008-FY2014. Expands the permissible uses of grant funds to include pre-trial services and programs to provide alternatives to incarceration for offenders with mental illnesses.(Sec. 9) Directs the Attorney General to provide for a study of the rate of occurrence of serious mental illnesses in individuals (including juveniles) on probation, incarcerated in a jail or prison, or on parole. Requires such study to identify the percentage of individuals with serious mental illnesses who, at the time of arrest, were eligible to receive social security disability or Medicaid benefits or who were homeless. Requires the Attorney General to submit a report to Congress on such study within 18 months after the enactment of this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY2009 to carry out such study.

Date: 2007-10-30
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Christopher Van Der Horn Military Survivors Mental Health Access Act - Declares that preadmission authorization is not required for the first sixteen outpatient mental health visits for a dependent of a member of the Armed Forces who died while eligible to receive hostile fire pay or from a disease or injury incurred while eligible for such pay.

Date: 2007-10-31
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Rural Veterans Health Care Access Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary) to establish and implement a pilot program to provide mental health counseling services to eligible veterans at non-Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities. Defines "eligible veteran" as one who: (1) served on active duty in support of a contingency operation; (2) is eligible to receive hospital care and medical services; (3) has been diagnosed with a mental health condition and recommended to receive mental health counseling; and (4) resides at least 30 miles from a VA medical facility that employs a full-time mental health professional. Requires the Secretary to issue to an eligible veteran a six-month supply of vouchers to be used to pay for counseling (including family counseling) services provided by the mental health provider. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study on the effectiveness of the pilot program.

Date: 2007-11-15
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Public Health Service Act to extend until December 31, 2008, mental health parity provisions, which require group health plans to treat equally mental health benefits and medical and surgical benefits for purposes of lifetime limits or annual limits on benefits covered by the plan.Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to take all necessary steps to participate in the Federal Payment Levy Program as soon as possible and ensure that: (1) at least 50% of all payments under parts A (Hospital Insurance) and B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) are processed through such program within one year after enactment of this Act; (2) at least 75% of all such payments are processed through such program within two years; and (3) all such payments are processed through such program by September 30, 2011.Requires the Financial Management Service and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to provide assistance to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to ensure that all payments are included in the Federal Payment Levy Program by the deadlines specified.Directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to offset Medicare payments by the amount of the payee's delinquent federal debt.Requires the Secretary of HHS to provide for specified expenditures from the Physician Assistance and Quality Initiative Fund for payment for physicians' services.Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer specified funds from general revenues to Social Security trust funds to ensure that assets of such trust funds are not reduced as a result of enactment of this Act.

Date: 2007-12-19
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Stop Senior Suicide Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an Interagency Geriatric Mental Health Planning Council to coordinate and collaborate on the planning for the delivery of mental health services, to include suicide prevention, to older adults.Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase, through 2014 (when it will not be limited), payment for the treatment of mental, psychoneurotic, and personality disorders of an individual who is not an inpatient of a hospital at the time such expenses are incurred.Requires the Secretary to award grants or cooperative agreements to eligible entities to develop strategies for addressing suicide among the elderly.Revises provisions requiring centers to provide appropriate information, training, and technical assistance on youth suicide to require such information, training, and assistance on suicide among all ages, particularly for groups that are at a high risk for suicide. Authorizes additional appropriations to carry out such changes.

Date: 2007-12-19
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Community-Based Mental Health Infrastructure Improvements Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible entities for the construction or modernization of facilities to provide mental health and behavioral health services to individuals. Defines an "eligible entity" as: (1) a state that is the recipient of a Community Mental Health Services Block Grant and a Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant under such Act; or (2) an Indian tribe or a tribal organization. Includes among grant application requirements assurances that facilities will be used for not less than 10 years for community-based mental health or substance abuse services for those who cannot pay for such services. Permits a grant recipient to request permission to transfer such 10-year obligation to another facility.Authorizes a state that receives a grant to award a subgrant to a qualified community program for activities such as: (1) the construction, expansion, and modernization of mental and behavioral health facilities; and (2) the construction and structural modification of facilities to permit the integrated delivery of behavioral health and primary care of specialty medical services to individuals with co-occurring mental illnesses and chronic medical or surgical diseases at a single service site.Requires a grant recipient to agree to make available nonfederal contributions matching federal funds provided.

Date: 2007-12-19
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Community Mental Health Services Improvement Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants for: (1) services to children, adults, and older adults with mental illnesses who have co-occurring primary care conditions and chronic diseases through the co-location of primary and specialty medical care in community-based mental and behavioral health settings; (2) programs to address behavioral and mental health workforce needs in professional shortage areas; (3) expanding behavioral and mental health education and training programs; (4) tele-mental health in medically-underserved areas; and (5) developing and implementing a plan to ensure that the National Health Information Infrastructure meets the needs of mental health and substance abuse providers.Provides for reports to Congress on: (1) the paperwork burden on community mental health providers; and (2) the compensation structure for such providers.

Date: 2008-01-29
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Armed Forces Suicide Prevention Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to undertake specified actions to enhance the suicide prevention programs of the Department of Defense (DOD), including: (1) suicide prevention training for all members of the Armed Forces and DOD civilian health care community and family support professionals; and (2) a suicide prevention outreach program throughout the Armed Forces and military family communities. Directs the Secretary to provide readjustment assistance to spouses and parents of members returning from deployments, including information on: (1) ways to identify signs and symptoms of risk factors for suicide; and (2) the national suicide prevention hotline and other suicide prevention resources. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants and enter into cooperative agreements to identify and implement within DOD strategies for: (1) the recruitment and retention of qualified military behavioral health professionals to provide mental health services, and substance abuse disorder prevention and treatment services, to members; and (2) reducing the stigma associated with seeking mental health treatment.

Date: 2008-02-06
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Global Autism Assistance Act of 2008 - Directs the Administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to establish and administer a health and education grant program (Global Autism Assistance Program) to: (1) support activities by nongovernmental organizations and other service providers, including advocacy groups, focused on autism in developing countries; and (2) establish a "teach the teachers" program to train health and education professionals working with autistic children in developing countries.

Date: 2008-02-14
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: International affairs
National Guard and Reserve Mental Health Access Act of 2008 - Requires the Secretary of Defense to: (1) provide for the implementation of the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program for members of the National Guard and reserves and their families required by section 582 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 by not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act; and (2) report to the congressional defense committees on that Program's implementation. Directs the Secretary to carry out a joint psychological health program to: (1) increase access to and the provision of psychological health care and related services for members of the National Guard following their deployment, and their families; (2) improve coordination among DOD components in the provision of such care during members' transition from active duty to civilian life; and (3) coordinate and oversee DOD efforts to assist members of the National Guard with mental illness and members with traumatic brain injury post-deployment. Requires the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to establish the National Guard Psychological Health Council. Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs to jointly carry out: (1) one or more pilot programs on the provision of mental health services to members of the National Guard and reserves, both before and after deployment, through telemental health technologies; and (2) an outreach program intended to reduce the stigma, among members of the National Guard and reserves returning from deployment, and their families, associated with seeking and obtaining mental health services. Requires the Secretary, as part of the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, to assign community outreach coordinators to assist members of the National Guard and reserves returning from deployment.

Date: 2008-05-15
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Honoring Our Nation's Obligation to Returning Warriors Act or HONOR Warriors Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide scholarships to individuals pursuing education or training in behavioral health care specialties that are critical to the operations of Vet Centers (centers for readjustment counseling and related mental health services for veterans) in order to recruit and retain individuals with such specialties for service in Vet Centers. Conditions the scholarship agreeing to serve in such a capacity for whatever period the Secretary specifies in the agreement. Makes any Armed Forces member who serves in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom eligible for readjustment counseling and related mental health services through Vet Centers regardless of whether the member is on active duty at the time of receipt of counseling and services. Directs the Secretary, on receipt of a request for counseling from an individual who has been discharged or released from active service, to: (1) provide referrals to assist the individual in obtaining mental health care and services outside the Department of Veterans Affairs; and (2) if pertinent, advise such individual of the individual's rights to apply for review of the discharge or release. Treats the suicide of a former member that occurs within two years after separation or retirement, if the member had a medical history of a combat-related mental health condition, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), as a death in line of duty for purposes of the survivors' eligibility to burial benefits and benefits under the Survivor Benefit Plan, laws administered by the Secretary, and the Social Security Act. Directs the Secretary of Defense to award grants to nonprofit organizations that provide emotional support services for survivors of deceased members of the Armed Forces and deceased veterans through the survivors' peers. Directs the Secretary of the Army to carry out at Fort Carson, Colorado, and Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, a pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of various means of enhancing awareness among members of the Army of PTSD.

Date: 2008-06-12
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program Reauthorization of 2008 - Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to reauthorize the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program through FY2015 and to revise program requirements to: (1) provide for competitive grants to nonprofit organizations to assist in locating missing patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias; (2) expand such program to include locating other missing elderly individuals; (3) require the Attorney General to solicit grants for program applications in the Federal Register and on the Department of Justice (DOJ) website; and (4) establish a preference in awarding grants to national nonprofit organizations that have a direct link to patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and their families (currently, grants may be awarded to only such organizations).

Date: 2008-07-15
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a four-year pilot program to provide outreach and training services related to the mental health of veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom to counseling centers, student health or wellness centers, or student services centers at colleges or universities with large enrollments of such veterans.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security