[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2351 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2351

To provide additional funding for mental health care for veterans, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 1, 2006

 Mrs. Boxer (for herself, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Dayton) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                           Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide additional funding for mental health care for veterans, 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. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) More than one in three soldiers and Marines who have 
        served in Iraq later sought help for mental health problems, 
        according to an Army report published in the Journal of the 
        American Medical Association.
            (2) Of the members of the Armed Forces who separated from 
        military service after deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq, 28 
        percent have enrolled in health care programs administered by 
        the Department of Veterans Affairs. A higher percentage of 
        former members of the regular components of the Armed Forces 
        (31 percent) have enrolled in such health care than have former 
        members of the National Guard and Reserves (25 percent).
            (3) Between 2002 and 2005, almost 19,000 veterans of 
        military service in Afghanistan and Iraq were treated for post-
        traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through programs administered 
        by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
            (4) According to the results of the first comprehensive 
        screening of veterans from the war in Iraq, conducted by the 
        Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, 
        almost 1,700 members of the Armed Forces returning from the war 
        said that they harbored thoughts of hurting themselves or that 
        they would be better off dead. More than 250 said that they had 
        such thoughts ``a lot''. Nearly 20,000 such members reported 
        nightmares or unwanted war recollections, and more than 3,700 
        such members said they had concerns that they might ``hurt or 
        lose control'' with someone else.
            (5) A study published in the July 2004 New England Journal 
        of Medicine revealed that 15.6 percent of Marines and 17.1 
        percent of soldiers surveyed after deployment in Iraq ``met the 
        screening criteria for major depression, generalized anxiety, 
        or [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)]''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of 
Veterans Affairs for the Veterans Health Administration for Medical 
Services for mental health care amounts that are not less than the 
following:
            (1) $3,600,000,000 in fiscal year 2007.
            (2) $4,100,000,000 in fiscal year 2008.
            (3) $4,600,000,000 in fiscal year 2009.
            (4) $5,100,000,000 in fiscal year 2010.
            (5) $5,600,000,000 in fiscal year 2011.

SEC. 3. ANNUAL REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH 
              STRATEGIC PLAN.

    (a) Annual Report.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 17 of title 38, United States 
        Code, is amended by inserting after section 1704 the following 
        new section:
``Sec. 1704A. Mental health services: annual report on implementation 
              of national strategic plan
    ``(a) In General.--(1) Not later than April 15 each year, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the 
Senate and House of Representatives a report that describes the 
progress of the Department in meeting each milestone specified in the 
national mental health strategic plan of the Department.
    ``(2) Each report under this subsection shall set forth, for each 
milestone covered by such report, the following:
            ``(A) The amount of funds expended during the fiscal year 
        preceding the fiscal year in which such report is submitted to 
        meet such milestone.
            ``(B) A description of the extent to which such milestone 
        is based on the adoption by the Secretary of the 
        recommendations of the President's new Freedom Commission on 
        Mental Health.
    ``(b) Independent Assessment.--Each report submitted under 
subsection (a) shall include an independent assessment of the progress 
of the Department in implementing the milestones described in that 
subsection. The independent assessment shall be made by the Special 
Committee on Veterans with Serious Mental Illness, the Special 
Committee on Veterans with PTSD, and the Advisory Committee on Homeless 
Veterans.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the 
        item relating to section 1704 the following new item:

        ``1704A. Mental health services: annual report on 
                            implementation of national strategic 
                            plan.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on December 15, 2006.
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