1.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)]
.
2.Authorization of
appropriationsThere 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.
3.Annual report on
implementation of national mental health strategic plan
(a)
(1)Chapter 17 of title
38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1704 the
following new section:
1704A.Mental health
services: annual report on implementation of national strategic plan
(a)(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)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)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)The amendments made by this section shall take effect on
December 15, 2006.