II 110th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 2780 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 13, 2008 Mrs. Boxer (for herself and Mr. Lieberman) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To require an electronic database of information on the incidence of suicide among members of the Armed Forces.

1.

Electronic database of information on the incidence of suicide among members of the Armed Forces

(a)

Database required

Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs and in coordination with the Secretaries of the military departments, establish and maintain an electronic database on the incidence of suicide and attempted suicide among members of the Armed Forces on active duty, including the information specified in subsection (c). (b)

Coverage of demobilized members of reserve components

To the extent practicable, the members of the Armed Forces covered by the database required under subsection (a) shall include members of the National Guard and Reserve who are demobilized from active duty during the 720-day period beginning on the date of their demobilization. (c)

Information

The information to be included in the database required by subsection (a) shall include, to the extent practicable, the following: (1)For each Armed Force— (A)the number of members on active duty who have attempted suicide; and (B)the number of members on active duty who have committed suicide. (2)For each member who commits or attempts suicide, the following: (A)The sex of the member. (B)The race or ethnicity of the member. (C)The Armed Force of the member. (D)The grade, military occupational specialty, duty status, and duty location of the member at the time of the attempt. (E)The physical location of the member at the time of the attempt. (F)A descriptive summary of any combat experience of the member, including the location of such experience, the intensity and duration of such experience, and the time between the last such experience and the attempt. (G)The highest level of education achieved by the member. (H)Any mental health condition, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), or substance use disorder, diagnosed or otherwise detected in the member. (I)A descriptive summary of any previous psychological care or treatment received by the member for a condition under subparagraph (H) or another mental health condition. (J)A descriptive summary of any family history of the member of mental illness, suicide, or both. (K)A descriptive summary of any physical or sexual abuse suffered by the member. (L)A descriptive summary of any recent marital or other relationship difficulties of the member. (M)A descriptive summary of any recent disciplinary actions taken against the member. (N)A descriptive summary of any recent legal difficulties of the member. (O)A descriptive summary of any recent financial or employment difficulties of the member. (P)A description of any prior communications of suicidal intent by the member. (3)Such other information as the Secretary considers appropriate for purposes of the database. (d)

Separate information on each attempt

Each attempted suicide of a member of the Armed Forces (whether or not completed) shall be treated as a separate attempt at suicide for purposes of subsection (c)(2). (e)

Updates

The database required by subsection (a) shall be updated on a continuing basis. (f)

Reports

(1)

Reports to congress

Not later than 90 days after the establishment of the database required by subsection (a), and every 90 days thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report setting forth the following: (A)Aggregated data on the incidence of suicide among members of the Armed Forces on active duty. (B)An assessment of recent trends in suicides and attempted suicides among members of the Armed Forces on active duty. (2)

Availability to public

Each report under paragraph (1) shall be made available to the public through the Internet website of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs that is available to the public. (3)

Protection of personal information

The information in any report under paragraph (1) shall not include any personal information or personally-identifying information on any member of the Armed Forces covered by the database.