[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2612 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2612

To improve mental health care for wounded members of the Armed Forces, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 7, 2007

 Mrs. Davis of California (for herself, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Loebsack, Mrs. 
Boyda of Kansas, Ms. Giffords, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Chandler, 
 and Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To improve mental health care for wounded 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 ``Mental Health Care for Our Wounded 
Warriors Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) An estimated one in six members of the Armed Forces 
        returning from service in Iraq or Afghanistan has a diagnosable 
        condition of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
            (2) One in ten members of the Armed Forces who have served 
        in Iraq or Afghanistan may suffer from a traumatic brain injury 
        (TBI).
            (3) Since 2001, approximately 1,500,000 members of the 
        Armed Forces have been deployed in support of the conflicts in 
        Iraq and Afghanistan, of whom approximately one-third have 
        served at least two tours of duty, 70,000 have served three 
        tours of duty, and 20,000 have served at least five tours of 
        duty.
            (4) Currently, there are 700,000 children in the United 
        States with at least one parent deployed to support ongoing 
        military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
            (5) The Department of Defense is facing a shortage of 
        mental health professionals. The Department has had as many as 
        450 psychologists on active duty in the Armed Forces in past 
        years. However, the Department currently has only 350 
        psychologists on active duty in the Armed Forces in support of 
        combat operations.
            (6) The demands placed on the Department of Defense mental 
        health system exceed its capacity to provide services in a 
        timely manner to all those in need.
            (7) The long-term costs of treating members of the Armed 
        Forces returning from Iraq and Afghanistan could ultimately 
        reach $700,000,000,000, with post-traumatic stress disorder 
        projected to be one of the most expensive conditions to treat.
            (8) Women now constitute 16 percent of the members of the 
        Armed Forces and are assigned to 90 percent all military 
        occupations. As a result, there is a need for research on 
        whether or not women in combat roles have unique mental health 
        needs that should be addressed by the mental health system of 
        the Department of Defense.
            (9) More than 25 percent of the members of the Armed Forces 
        deployed in support combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan 
        are ethnic minorities. There is a need for research on whether 
        or not minorities have unique mental health needs that should 
        be addressed by the mental health system of the Department of 
        Defense.
            (10) Three out of every five deployed members of the Armed 
        Forces have a spouse, child, or both. However, there is a 
        paucity of research on the mental health needs of members of 
        the Armed Forces and their families.
            (11) Approximately 40 percent of the billets for licensed 
        clinical psychologists in the Army are vacant, and there are 
        shortages in other mental health professions, including 
        psychiatry and clinical social work.
            (12) The long-term needs associated with mental health 
        conditions and brain injuries will require a robust mental 
        health professional workforce.
            (13) Mental health professionals deployed alongside combat 
        troops also suffer from combat related mental illness.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON MENTAL HEALTH OF THE MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 
              FORCES.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) members of the Armed Forces deserve the best possible 
        treatment for injuries sustained while in service to the United 
        States;
            (2) injuries sustained by members of the Armed Forces in 
        combat produce both physical and mental illnesses;
            (3) members of the Armed Forces should have access to 
        mental health providers to facilitate their treatment for 
        mental illness sustained during combat;
            (4) mental health disorders, such as post-traumatic stress 
        disorder (PTSD), incurred by members of the Armed Forces in 
        combat should be treated with an urgency similar to physical 
        ailments incurred by such members in combat;
            (5) there is a need to train, recruit, and retain more 
        psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, neurologists, and 
        other health care professionals to diagnose and provide short-
        term and long-term care for members of the Armed Forces with 
        mental health conditions, including traumatic brain injuries 
        (TBIs), sustained in combat; and
            (6) there is a continued need for--
                    (A) basic science research on post-traumatic stress 
                disorder, traumatic brain injury, and other combat-
                related conditions;
                    (B) the development of new treatments for post-
                traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and 
                other combat-related conditions;
                    (C) the dissemination of best practices for 
                treating and managing post-traumatic stress disorder, 
                traumatic brain injury, and other combat-related 
                conditions; and
                    (D) a long-term strategy for education, training, 
                recruitment, and retention for the mental health 
                workforce of the Department of Defense in order to 
                expand and improve that workforce.

SEC. 4. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN MILITARY MENTAL HEALTH.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 55 of title 10, United States 
        Code, is amended by inserting after section 1105 the following 
        new section:
``Sec. 1105a. Centers of Excellence in Military Mental Health
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall establish within 
the Department of Defense at least two centers of excellence in 
military mental health to carry out the responsibilities specified in 
subsection (c). Each such center shall be known as a `Center of 
Excellence in Military Mental Health'.
    ``(b) Partnerships.--The Secretary shall authorize each Center of 
Excellence in Military Mental Health to enter into such partnerships, 
agreements, or other arrangements as the Secretary considers 
appropriate with institutions of higher education and other appropriate 
public and private entities to carry out the responsibilities specified 
in subsection (c).
    ``(c) Responsibilities.--Each Center of Excellence in Military 
Mental Health shall have responsibilities as follows:
            ``(1) To direct and oversee, based on expert research, the 
        development and implementation of a long-term, comprehensive 
        plan and strategy for the Department of Defense for the 
        prevention, identification, and treatment of combat-related 
        mental health conditions and brain injuries, with an emphasis 
        on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain 
        injury (TBI).
            ``(2) To provide for the development, testing, and 
        dissemination within the Department of best practices for the 
        treatment of combat-related mental health conditions and brain 
        injuries, including post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic 
        brain injury, acute depression, and substance abuse.
            ``(3) To provide guidance for the mental health system of 
        the Department in determining the mental health and 
        neurological health personnel required to provide quality 
        mental health care for members of the armed forces.
            ``(4) To establish, implement, and oversee a comprehensive 
        program to train mental health and neurological health 
        professionals of the Department in the treatment of combat-
        related mental health conditions and brain injuries.
            ``(5) To facilitate advancements in the study of the short-
        term and long-term psychological effects of traumatic brain 
        injury.
            ``(6) To disseminate within the military medical treatment 
        facilities of the Department best practices for training mental 
        health professionals, including neurological health 
        professionals.
            ``(7) To develop a strategic plan to reduce the stigma 
        among members of the armed forces regarding the presence of 
        mental illness or other mental health conditions in such 
        members.
            ``(8) To conduct basic science and translational research 
        on combat-related mental health conditions and brain injuries 
        for the purposes of understanding the etiology of such 
        conditions and injuries and developing preventive interventions 
        and new treatments.
            ``(9) To develop outreach strategies and treatments for 
        families of members of the armed forces with combat-related 
        mental health conditions or brain injuries in order to mitigate 
        the negative impacts of such conditions and injuries on such 
        family members and to support the recovery of such members from 
        such conditions and injuries.
            ``(10) To conduct research on the unique mental health 
        needs of women members of the armed forces who serve in combat 
        zones whose service may be compromised by various levels of 
        sexual harassment or sexual assault and develop treatments to 
        meet any needs identified through such research.
            ``(11) To conduct research on the unique mental health 
        needs of ethnic minority members of the armed forces who serve 
        in combat and develop treatments to meet any needs identified 
        through such research.
            ``(12) To conduct research on the mental health needs of 
        families of members of the armed forces who are deployed to 
        combat zones and develop treatments to meet any needs 
        identified through such research.
            ``(13) To develop and oversee a long-term plan to increase 
        the number of mental health and neurological health 
        professionals within the Department in order to facilitate the 
        meeting by the Department of the long-term needs of members of 
        the armed forces with combat-related mental health conditions 
        or brain injuries.
            ``(14) Such other responsibilities as the Secretary shall 
        specify.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of chapter 55 of such title is amended by inserting 
        after the item relating to section 1105 the following new item:

``1105a. Centers of Excellence in Military Mental Health.''.
            (3) Report on establishment.--Not later than 180 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 
        shall submit to Congress a report on the establishment of 
        Centers of Excellence in Military Mental Health under section 
        1105a of title 10, United States Code (as added by paragraph 
        (1)). The report shall--
                    (A) set forth the number and location of the 
                Centers of Excellence in Military Mental Health so 
                established;
                    (B) for each Center so established, describe in 
                detail the activities and proposed activities of such 
                Center; and
                    (C) assess the general progress of the Centers in 
                discharging the responsibilities set forth in that 
                section.
    (b) Oversight.--
            (1) Board of oversight.--The Secretary of Defense shall 
        establish a board to oversee the activities of the Centers of 
        Excellence in Military Mental Health of the Department of 
        Defense established under section 1105a of title 10, United 
        States Code (as added by subsection (a)). The board shall be 
        known as the ``Board of Oversight of Excellence in Military 
        Mental Health'' (in this subsection referred to as the 
        ``Board'').
            (2) Membership.--
                    (A) Required members.--The members of the Board 
                shall include the following:
                            (i) The director of each Center of 
                        Excellence in Military Mental Health.
                            (ii) The commanding officer of Walter Reed 
                        Army Medical Center, District of Columbia.
                            (iii) The Surgeon General of the Army, the 
                        Surgeon General of the Navy, and the Surgeon 
                        General of the Air Force.
                            (iv) The Assistant Secretary of Defense for 
                        Health Affairs.
                    (B) Authorized members.--With the joint approval of 
                the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans 
                Affairs, the members of the Board may include any of 
                the following:
                            (i) The Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
                        for Health.
                            (ii) Any director of a polytrauma center of 
                        the Department of Veterans Affairs.
            (3) Meetings.--The Board shall meet not less often than 
        four times each year.
            (4) Responsibilities.--The responsibilities of the Board 
        shall include the following:
                    (A) To consider and evaluate proposals of the 
                Centers of Excellence in Military Mental Health in the 
                discharge of the responsibilities of such Centers.
                    (B) To develop mechanisms for the dissemination and 
                implementation of recommendations and best practices on 
                military mental health developed by the Centers of 
                Excellence in Military Mental Health.
                    (C) Such other responsibilities as the Secretary 
                shall establish for purposes of this section.

SEC. 5. PERSONNEL SHORTAGES IN MENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE OF THE 
              DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

    (a) Recommendations on Means of Addressing Shortages.--
            (1) Report.--Not later than 45 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to 
        the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of 
        Representatives a report setting forth the recommendations of 
        the Secretary for such legislative or administrative actions as 
        the Secretary considers appropriate to address current 
        personnel shortages in the mental health workforce of the 
        Department of Defense.
            (2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) may 
        include recommendations on the following:
                    (A) Enhancements or improvements of financial 
                incentives for personnel in the mental health workforce 
                of the Department of Defense in order to enhance the 
                recruitment and retention of such personnel, including 
                recruitment, accession, or retention bonuses and 
                scholarship, tuition, and other financial assistance.
                    (B) Modifications of service obligations of 
                personnel in the mental health workforce.
                    (C) Such other matters as the Secretary considers 
                appropriate.
    (b) Recruitment.--Commencing not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall implement 
programs to recruit qualified individuals in mental health fields to 
service in the Armed Forces as mental health personnel of the Armed 
Forces.
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