[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2585 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2585

 To provide for the enhancement of the suicide prevention programs of 
           the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 31, 2008

 Mr. Harkin (for himself, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Obama, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Dodd, 
Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Casey, and Mr. Webb) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the enhancement of the suicide prevention programs of 
           the Department of Defense, 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 ``Armed Forces Suicide Prevention Act 
of 2008''.

SEC. 2. ENHANCEMENT OF SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 
              DEFENSE.

    (a) Enhancement of Suicide Prevention Programs.--The Secretary of 
Defense shall take appropriate actions to enhance the suicide 
prevention programs of the Department of Defense.
    (b) Training and Additional Requirements for Members of the Armed 
Forces.--The actions taken under subsection (a) shall include the 
following:
            (1) A review and evaluation of existing suicide prevention 
        efforts across the military departments, including an 
        assessment of the effectiveness of current efforts and of how 
        such efforts are addressing issues related to combat stress.
            (2) A requirement for suicide prevention training (as 
        described in subsection (c)) on an annual basis for all members 
        of the Armed Forces (including members of the National Guard 
        and Reserve), for all civilian health care community and family 
        support professionals of the Department of Defense, and for 
        such other service personnel of the Department as the Secretary 
        shall designate for purposes of this paragraph.
            (3) Enhancement of the basic lifesaving training course for 
        members of the Armed Forces to include within such training 
        matters relating to recognition of risk factors for suicide, 
        identification of signs and symptoms of mental health concerns 
        and combat stress, and protocols for responding to crisis 
        situations involving members of the Armed Forces who may be at 
        high risk for suicide.
            (4) Enhancement of training for military medics and medical 
        personnel to include within such training matters relating to 
        recognition of risk factors for suicide, identification of 
        signs and symptoms of mental health concerns and combat stress, 
        and protocols for responding to crisis situations involving 
        members of the Armed Forces who may be at high risk for 
        suicide.
            (5) Review and enhancement of requirements for access of 
        units to crisis response teams to prevent and respond to 
        traumatic events, such as members in crisis or loss of unit 
        members, which teams shall include qualified mental health 
        professionals and may include medical staff, chaplains, family 
        support staff, peers, and other appropriate personnel.
    (c) Suicide Prevention Training.--For purposes of this section, 
suicide prevention training is comprehensive training on suicide 
prevention (including, at a minimum, education, training, peer-to-peer 
support methods, outreach, and de-stigmatization on suicide) developed 
by the Secretary of Defense for purposes of this section in 
consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the National 
Institute of Mental Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services, 
and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    (d) Outreach.--
            (1) In general.--The actions taken under subsection (a) 
        shall include a campaign of outreach throughout the Armed 
        Forces and the military family communities intended to--
                    (A) reduce the stigma among members of the Armed 
                Forces and their families, and in such communities, 
                associated with mental health concerns;
                    (B) encourage members of the Armed Forces and 
                individuals in such communities to seek help with such 
                concerns;
                    (C) increase awareness among members of the Armed 
                Forces and in such communities that mental health is 
                essential to overall health; and
                    (D) increase awareness among members of the Armed 
                Forces and in such communities regarding substance 
                abuse concerns, relationship and financial 
                difficulties, and legal and occupational difficulties.
            (2) Public addresses.--As part of the campaign of outreach, 
        the Secretary shall provide for the inclusion in addresses to 
        veterans service organizations and other public addresses, and 
        in other public speeches, by senior officials of the Department 
        of Defense of the themes of the importance of mental health, 
        and the importance of seeking help on mental health concerns 
        and stress on military family members, for members of the Armed 
        Forces, veterans, and their families.
    (e) Post-Deployment Assistance for Spouses and Parents of Returning 
Members.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide spouses and 
        parents of members of the Armed Forces, including members of 
        the National Guard and Reserve, who are returning from 
        deployment assistance in--
                    (A) understanding issues that arise in the 
                readjustment of such members--
                            (i) for members of the National Guard and 
                        Reserve, to civilian life; and
                            (ii) for members of the regular components 
                        of the Armed Forces, to military life in a non-
                        combat environment;
                    (B) identifying signs and symptoms of substance 
                abuse, mental health conditions, traumatic brain 
                injury, and risk factors for suicide; and
                    (C) encouraging such members and their families in 
                seeking assistance for such conditions and in seeking 
                assistance on relationship, financial, legal, and 
                occupational difficulties.
            (2) Information on available resources.--In providing 
        assistance under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide 
        information on the national suicide prevention hotline, local 
        resources for mental health services, family counseling 
        services, or other appropriate services, including services 
        available from both military providers of such services and 
        community-based providers of such services.
            (3) Timing.--The Secretary shall provide resources under 
        paragraph (1) with respect to a member of the Armed Forces not 
        later than six months after the date of the return of such 
        member from deployment.
    (f) Assessment of Actions.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide for an 
        evaluation and assessment of the actions undertaken under this 
        section by an appropriate non-Federal Government entity 
        selected by the Secretary for purposes of this subsection. The 
        Secretary may provide for the evaluation and assessment by 
        contract or other cooperative agreement with, or by grant to, 
        the entity so selected.
            (2) Elements.--In conducting the evaluation and assessment 
        required under paragraph (1), the entity selected under that 
        paragraph shall evaluate and assess the effectiveness of the 
        actions taken under this section in reducing the incidence of 
        suicide among members of the Armed Forces, including--
                    (A) the extent to which the actions taken under 
                this section effectively targeted members of the Armed 
                Forces and their families; and
                    (B) the extent to which the actions taken under 
                this section increased awareness among members of the 
                Armed Forces and their families on risk factors for 
                suicide.

SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAMS AND 
              ACTIVITIES.

    (a) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Defense 
shall submit to Congress a report on the programs and activities of the 
Secretary of Defense to reduce the incidence of suicide among members 
of the Armed Forces.
    (b) Elements.--Each report under this section shall include the 
following:
            (1) The total number of suicides among members of the Armed 
        Forces during the period beginning on January 1, 2002, and 
        ending at the end of the most recent calendar year quarter 
        preceding the submittal of such report, including the number of 
        suicides confirmed and the number of deaths being investigated 
        as a suicide, set forth--
                    (A) by calendar year quarter in which death 
                occurred;
                    (B) by military department of the members 
                concerned; and
                    (C) by whether death occurred while the members 
                concerned were deployed or while assigned to permanent 
                duty station or homeport.
            (2) A description of the status of the program required by 
        section 2, including, for the first three reports under this 
        section, a current description of the implementation of the 
        program, including the costs of implementation of the program.
            (3) A description of the coordination of the program with 
        suicide prevention efforts of the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs.
            (4) In the case of the first report under this section, a 
        plan for additional programs and activities to reduce the 
        incidence of suicide among current and former members of the 
        Armed Forces.
            (5) Such recommendations for additional legislative or 
        administrative action as the Secretary considers appropriate to 
        improve and enhance the suicide prevention programs and 
        activities of the Department of Defense.
    (c) Consultation.--In developing the plan required by subsection 
(b)(4), the Secretary of Defense shall consult with the following:
            (1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
            (2) The National Institute of Mental Health.
            (3) The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
        Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services.
            (4) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SEC. 4. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FOR UNIFORMED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH 
              PROFESSIONALS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

    The Secretary of Defense may award grants to, and enter into 
contracts and cooperative agreements with, such entities as the 
Secretary considers appropriate to identify and implement within the 
Department of Defense innovative and effective strategies for the 
recruitment and retention of qualified uniformed behavioral health 
professionals to provide mental health services, and substance abuse 
disorder prevention and treatment services, for members of the Armed 
Forces.

SEC. 5. REDUCING THE STIGMA ASSOCIATED WITH SEEKING MENTAL HEALTH 
              TREATMENT.

    The Secretary of Defense may award grants to, and enter into 
contracts and cooperative agreements with, such entities as the 
Secretary considers appropriate to identify and implement within the 
Department of Defense innovative and effective strategies for reducing 
the stigma associated with seeking mental health treatment.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2009 
for the Department of Defense $6,000,000 to carry out this Act.
                                 <all>