1.This Act may be cited as
the Mental Health Care for Our Wounded
Warriors Act
.
2.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.
3.Sense of
Congress on mental health of the members of the Armed ForcesIt 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.
4.Centers of
excellence in military mental health
(a)
(1)Chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by
inserting after section 1105 the following new section:
1105a.Centers of
Excellence in Military Mental Health
(a)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)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)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 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)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)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)
(1)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)
(A)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)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)The
Board shall meet not less often than four times each year.
(4)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.
5.Personnel
shortages in mental health workforce of the Department of Defense
(a)Recommendations
on means of addressing shortages
(1)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)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)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.