[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2963 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2963

  To improve and enhance the mental health care benefits available to 
  members of the Armed Forces and veterans, to enhance counseling and 
 other benefits available to survivors of members of the Armed Forces 
                 and veterans, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 1, 2008

    Mr. Bond (for himself, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Obama, Mr. 
Domenici, Mrs. Dole, and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To improve and enhance the mental health care benefits available to 
  members of the Armed Forces and veterans, to enhance counseling and 
 other benefits available to survivors of members of the Armed Forces 
                 and veterans, 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. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF BEHAVIORAL 
              HEALTH CARE SPECIALISTS FOR VET CENTERS.

    (a) Program Required.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, 
acting through the Under Secretary for Health of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, carry out a program to provide scholarships to 
individuals pursuing education or training in behavioral health care 
specialties that are critical to the operations of Vet Centers in order 
to recruit and retain individuals with such specialties for service as 
behavioral health care specialists in Vet Centers.
    (b) Eligibility.--An individual shall be eligible for a scholarship 
under the program under this section if the individual--
            (1) is pursuing education or training leading to licensure 
        or other certified proficiency in such behavioral health care 
        specialties critical to the operations of Vet Centers as the 
        Secretary shall designate for purposes of the program; and
            (2) otherwise meets such other criteria or requirements as 
        the Secretary shall establish for purposes of the program.
    (c) Amount.--The amount of any scholarship provided under the 
program under this section shall be determined by the Secretary.
    (d) Agreement To Serve as Behavioral Health Care Specialist in Vet 
Centers.--As a condition of receipt of a scholarship under the program 
under this section, an individual receiving a scholarship shall enter 
into an agreement with the Secretary to serve as an employee of a Vet 
Center in the behavioral health care specialty of the individual for 
such period as the Secretary shall specify in the agreement.
    (e) Repayment.--Each agreement under subsection (c) shall contain 
such provisions as the Under Secretary shall establish for purposes of 
the program under this section relating to repayment of the amount of a 
scholarship provided under this section in the event the individual 
entering into such agreement does not fulfill the service requirements 
in such agreement. Such provisions shall, to the maximum extent 
practicable, apply uniformly to all recipients of scholarships provided 
under this section.
    (f) Funding.--(1) Amounts for scholarships under the program under 
this section shall be derived from amounts available to the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs for readjustment benefits.
    (2) The total amount available for scholarships under the program 
under this section in any fiscal year may not exceed $2,000,000.
    (g) Vet Centers Defined.--In this section, the term ``Vet Centers'' 
means the centers for readjustment counseling and related mental health 
services for veterans under section 1712A of title 38, United States 
Code.

SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES WHO SERVE IN 
              OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM OR OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM FOR 
              COUNSELING AND SERVICES THROUGH VETS CENTERS.

    (a) In General.--Any member of the Armed Forces, including a member 
of the National Guard or Reserve, who serves on active duty in the 
Armed Forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom 
is eligible for readjustment counseling and related mental health 
services under section 1712A of title 38, United States Code, through 
the centers for readjustment counseling and related mental health 
services (commonly referred to as ``Vet Centers'') operated under that 
section.
    (b) No Requirement for Current Active Duty Service.--A member of 
the Armed Forces who meets the requirements for eligibility for 
counseling and services under subsection (a) is entitled to counseling 
and services under that subsection regardless of whether or not the 
member is currently on active duty in the Armed Forces at the time of 
receipt of counseling and services under that subsection.
    (c) Regulations.--The eligibility of members of the Armed Forces 
for counseling and services under subsection (a) shall be subject to 
such regulations as the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall jointly prescribe for purposes of this section.

SEC. 3. RESTORATION OF AUTHORITY OF VETS CENTERS TO PROVIDE REFERRAL 
              AND OTHER ASSISTANCE UPON REQUEST TO FORMER MEMBERS OF 
              THE ARMED FORCES NOT AUTHORIZED COUNSELING.

    Section 1712A of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsection (c):
    ``(c) Upon receipt of a request for counseling under this section 
from any individual who has been discharged or released from active 
military, naval, or air service but who is not otherwise eligible for 
such counseling, the Secretary shall--
            ``(1) provide referral services to assist such individual, 
        to the maximum extent practicable, in obtaining mental health 
        care and services from sources outside the Department; and
            ``(2) if pertinent, advise such individual of such 
        individual's rights to apply to the appropriate military, 
        naval, or air service, and to the Department, for review of 
        such individual's discharge or release from such service.''.

SEC. 4. TREATMENT OF SUICIDES OF CERTAIN FORMER MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 
              FORCES AS DEATHS IN LINE OF DUTY FOR PURPOSES OF 
              ELIGIBILITY OF SURVIVORS FOR CERTAIN BENEFITS.

    (a) Treatment as Death in Line of Duty of Suicides of Certain 
Former Members of the Armed Forces.--The suicide of a former member of 
the Armed Forces described in subsection (b) that occurs during the 
two-year period beginning on the date of the separation or retirement 
of the former member from the Armed Forces shall be treated as a death 
in line of duty of a member of the Armed Forces on active duty in the 
Armed Forces for purposes of the eligibility of the survivors of the 
former member for the benefits described in subsection (c).
    (b) Covered Former Members of the Armed Forces.--A former member of 
the Armed Forces described in this subsection is any former member of 
the Armed Forces with a medical history of a combat-related mental 
health condition or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic 
Brain Injury (TBI).
    (c) Covered Benefits.--The benefits described in this subsection 
are the benefits as follows:
            (1) Burial benefits.
            (2) Benefits under the Survivor Benefit Plan under 
        subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 10, United States Code.
            (3) Benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary 
        of Veterans Affairs.
            (4) Benefits under the Social Security Act.
    (d) Dates for Purposes of Certain Determinations.--
            (1) Date of death.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        for purposes of the benefits under this section, the date of 
        death of a former member of the Armed Forces described by 
        subsection (a) shall be the date of the separation or 
        retirement of the former member from the Armed Forces.
            (2) Date for nature of eligibility.--In determining the 
        scope and nature of the entitlement a survivor of a former 
        member of the Armed Forces described by subsection (a) to 
        benefits under this section, the date of death of the former 
        member shall be the date of the suicide of the former member.
    (e) Refund of Reduction in Retired Pay Under SBP.--Any reduction in 
the retired pay of a former member of the Armed Forces described by 
subsection (a) under the Survivor Benefit Plan under subchapter II of 
chapter 73 of title 10, United States Code, during the period beginning 
on the date of the retirement of the former member from the Armed 
Forces and ending on the date of the suicide of the former member shall 
be refunded to the surviving spouse or children, as applicable, of the 
former member.

SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS FOR THE PROVISION OF 
              EMOTIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES TO SURVIVORS OF MEMBERS OF THE 
              ARMED FORCES AND VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall carry out a program 
to award grants to non-profit organizations that provide emotional 
support services for survivors of deceased members of the Armed Forces 
(including members of the National Guard and Reserve) and deceased 
veterans through peers of such survivors.
    (b) Award of Grants.--
            (1) Eligibility.--To be eligible for a grant under the 
        program under this section a non-profit organization shall meet 
        such criteria as the Secretary shall establish for purposes of 
        the program.
            (2) Application.--A non-profit organization seeking a grant 
        under the program shall submit to the Secretary an application 
        for the grant in such form and manner as the Secretary shall 
        specify for purposes of the program.
    (c) Grants.--
            (1) Amount.--The amount of each grant awarded a non-profit 
        organization under the program under this section shall be such 
        amount as the Secretary determines appropriate for purposes of 
        the program.
            (2) Duration.--The duration of each grant awarded a non-
        profit organization shall be such period as the Secretary 
        determines appropriate for purposes of the program.
    (d) Use of Grant Funds.--Each non-profit organization awarded a 
grant under the program under this section shall utilize amounts under 
the grant to provide such emotional support services for survivors of 
deceased members of the Armed Forces (including members of the National 
Guard and Reserve) and deceased veterans through peers of such 
survivors as the Secretary shall specify in the grant.
    (e) Funding.--Amounts for grants under the program under this 
section shall be derived from amounts authorized to be appropriated for 
the Department of Defense for military personnel.
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