[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2219 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2219

   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award a grant to a 
   private, nonprofit entity to establish, publicize, and operate a 
national toll-free suicide prevention telephone hotline targeted to and 
                staffed by veterans of the Armed Forces.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 8, 2007

    Mr. Moran of Virginia (for himself, Mr. Ramstad, Mr. Sires, Mr. 
Loebsack, Mr. Hill, Mr. Michaud, Mr. Braley of Iowa, and Mr. Gilchrest) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award a grant to a 
   private, nonprofit entity to establish, publicize, and operate a 
national toll-free suicide prevention telephone hotline targeted to and 
                staffed by veterans of the Armed Forces.

    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 ``Veterans Suicide Prevention Hotline 
Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE VET2VET NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION 
              HOTLINE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs (in this Act 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall award 1 grant for a period of 
not more than 3 years 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 of 
the Armed Forces.
    (b) Hotline Activities.--The entity receiving the grant under 
subsection (a) shall--
            (1) enter into a contract with a telecommunications carrier 
        for the use of a national toll-free telephone number;
            (2) select, train, and supervise personnel (consisting 
        predominately of veterans of the Armed Forces) to answer 
        incoming telephone calls and provide counseling and referral 
        services to callers;
            (3) ensure that sufficient staffing is provided so that 
        hotline services are available to callers at all times;
            (4) assemble and maintain a current database of information 
        to be used to refer callers to local service providers, such as 
        information about mental health service providers located 
        throughout the United States (including regional mental health 
        clinics and Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers) and 
        information about the availability of shelters for homeless 
        callers;
            (5) publicize the hotline to potential callers; and
            (6) to the extent that the entity receiving the grant 
        provides hotline services through a local crisis center 
        operating as a subcontractor, certify the capacity of and 
        provide supplemental training for that local crisis center.
    (c) Eligibility.--In order to be eligible to receive the grant 
under this section, a private, nonprofit entity shall prepare and 
submit an application at such time, in such form, and with such 
information and assurances as the Secretary may require, including a 
description of--
            (1) the training that will be provided by the entity to 
        ensure that personnel will be able to effectively provide 
        counseling and referral services and operate any technological 
        systems used by the hotline;
            (2) the selection criteria for hotline personnel;
            (3) the recruitment process for obtaining veterans to serve 
        as hotline answering personnel;
            (4) the plan for--
                    (A) creating, maintaining, and using the database 
                described in subsection (b)(4),
                    (B) publicizing the availability of the hotline to 
                potential callers through targeted marketing to 
                veterans, and
                    (C) facilitating access to the hotline for people 
                with hearing impairments;
            (5) the entity's recognized expertise--
                    (A) in the area of suicide prevention, and
                    (B) in working with individuals who have served in 
                the Armed Forces; and
            (6) the entity's commitment to diversity and to the 
        provision of appropriate services to ethnic minorities, racial 
        minorities, elderly individuals, and individuals with 
        disabilities.
    (d) Annual Report.--The entity receiving the grant under subsection 
(a) shall submit an annual report to the Secretary at such time, in 
such form, and with such information as the Secretary may require, 
including the hotline's call volume, the demand for specific types of 
referrals, and the number of trained volunteers answering the hotline.
    (e) Annual Approval.--Payments of the grant awarded under this 
section shall be subject to annual approval by the Secretary and to the 
availability of appropriations for each fiscal year.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated $2,500,000 
each year for fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010 for grants under 
section 2.
    (b) Carry Over.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization 
of appropriations under subsection (a) shall remain available until 
expended.
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