[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1639 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1639

   To require pre- and post-deployment mental health screenings for 
          members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 14, 2005

 Ms. DeLauro (for herself, Mr. Evans, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. 
    Oberstar, Mr. Filner, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Case, Mrs. Capps, Mr. 
  Gutierrez, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Emanuel, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Ms. 
   Hooley, Mr. Stark, Mr. Kennedy of Rhode Island, Mr. Serrano, Mr. 
  Hinchey, and Mr. Sanders) introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require pre- and post-deployment mental health screenings for 
          members of the Armed Forces, 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 ``Military Health Services Improvement 
Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) More than 160,000 United States servicemembers are 
        serving their country in Operation Enduring Freedom and 
        Operation Iraqi Freedom.
            (2) There currently are more than 100,000 activated 
        National Guard and reserve component forces engaged in the war 
        on terrorism.
            (3) According to the Department of the Army, nearly one in 
        six soldiers who have served in Operation Iraqi Freedom suffers 
        from post-traumatic stress disorder.
            (4) More than 900 soldiers have been evacuated from Iraq 
        since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom because of 
        mental health problems.
            (5) The stigma associated with mental health treatment 
        remains a significant obstacle to seeking mental health care.
            (6) Untreated post-traumatic stress disorder and other 
        mental health illnesses have been linked to severe social 
        problems, including alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence, 
        child abuse, familial disintegration, and homelessness.

SEC. 3. PRE- AND POST-DEPLOYMENT SCREENING PROGRAM FOR MEMBERS OF THE 
              ARMED FORCES.

    (a) Pre- and Post-Deployment Evaluations.--Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 
shall prescribe in regulations--
            (1) a requirement that members of the Armed Forces 
        deploying to a combat theater receive a mental health 
        evaluation conducted in person by a qualified mental health 
        professional before their deployment; and
            (2) a requirement that members of the Armed Forces 
        returning from service of more than 30 days in a combat theater 
        or who were injured in a combat theater receive a combat stress 
        evaluation conducted in person by a qualified mental health 
        professional within 30 days after the date on which the member 
        returns from the combat theater.
    (b) Mental Health Awareness Program.--
            (1) Program.--The Secretary of Defense shall implement a 
        program designed to--
                    (A) raise awareness about mental health issues that 
                members of the Armed Forces and their families may 
                encounter during and after deployment of the member; 
                and
                    (B) reduce the stigma associated with mental health 
                care.
            (2) Implementation.--The Secretary, pursuant to 
        regulations, may enter into arrangements with an accredited 
        college, university, hospital-based, or community-based mental 
        health center to carry out the program under this subsection. 
        The Secretary shall ensure that the program is made available 
        in foreign languages if necessary to aid comprehension among 
        persons to be helped by the program.
            (3) Deadline.--The Secretary shall carry out this 
        subsection not later than 180 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
    (c) Hold-Harmless for Mental Health Treatment.--In carrying out any 
mental health-related program, the Secretary shall ensure that neither 
the provision of mental health services nor inquiries about mental 
health services shall adversely affect an individual's career.

SEC. 4. MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS FOR DEPENDENTS.

    (a) Program.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall 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 of the Armed Forces whose sponsor served or will serve in a 
combat theater during the previous or next 60 days.
    (b) Matters Covered.--The program developed under subsection (a) 
shall be designed to--
            (1) increase awareness of mental health services available 
        to dependents of members of the Armed Forces on active duty;
            (2) increase awareness of mental health services available 
        to dependents of Reservists and National Guard members whose 
        sponsors have been activated; and
            (3) increase awareness of mental health issues that may 
        arise in dependents referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) whose 
        sponsor is deployed to a combat theater.
    (c) Toll-Free Number.--In carrying out this section, the Secretary 
of Defense shall establish a toll-free informational telephone number 
and website devoted to helping members of the Armed Forces and their 
dependents recognize, and locate treatment providers for, post-
traumatic stress disorder and other forms of combat stress.
    (d) Coordination.--The Secretary may permit the Department of 
Defense to coordinate the program developed under subsection (a) with 
an accredited college, university, hospital-based, or community-based 
mental health center or engage mental health professionals to develop 
programs to help implement this section.
    (e) Availability in Other Languages.--The Secretary shall ensure 
that the program developed under subsection (a) is made available in 
foreign languages if necessary to aid comprehension among persons to be 
helped by the program.

SEC. 5. IMPROVED COORDINATION BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND THE 
              DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Memorandum of Understanding.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense and the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall enter into a memorandum of 
understanding to improve the transition of mental health-related cases 
from the Department of Defense to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
    (b) Matters Covered.--The memorandum of understanding under 
subsection (a) shall specifically include requirements--
            (1) that the Department of Defense report to the Department 
        of Veterans Affairs any case or suspected case of post-
        traumatic stress disorder, or other disorders or symptoms that 
        result from deployment to a combat theater, in a member of the 
        Armed Forces upon the member's discharge from the Armed Force; 
        and
            (2) that the Department of Defense report to the Department 
        of Veterans Affairs any disciplinary measures taken against a 
        member of the Armed Forces during or after service in a combat 
        theater upon the member's discharge from the Armed Forces.
    (c) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to 
Congress a report on the implementation of this section.

SEC. 6. CLEARINGHOUSE FOR INFORMATION RELATING TO COMBAT STRESS 
              TREATMENT PROFESSIONALS.

     Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Defense shall create an information clearinghouse 
to improve the availability of information about mental health 
professionals who treat combat stress.

SEC. 7. AVAILABILITY OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES UNDER TRICARE FOR 
              CERTAIN RESERVE MEMBERS AFTER DEACTIVATION.

    The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations to provide for 
the availability of mental health services under the TRICARE program 
under chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code, for an eligible 
member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces and the family 
members of the member, during the 24-month period following the date of 
termination of the member's service in the reserve component. In this 
section, a member of a reserve component is eligible if the member was 
called or ordered to active duty for a period of more than 30 days 
under a provision of law referred to in section 101(a)(13)(B) of title 
10, United States Code, and who served continuously on active duty for 
90 or more days in a combat zone pursuant to such call or order.

SEC. 8. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``qualified mental health professional'' 
means--
            (1) an accredited psychologist, psychiatrist, child 
        psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse, or clinical social worker; or
            (2) a student seeking a post-graduate degree in one of the 
        following mental health-related fields: psychiatry, psychology, 
        psychiatric nursing, or clinical social work.
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