[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5731 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5731

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for annual reviews of 
 mental health professionals treating veterans, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 14, 2010

 Mrs. Kirkpatrick of Arizona introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for annual reviews of 
 mental health professionals treating 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Mental Health Professionals 
Oversight Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. REVIEW OF MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 
              VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Review.--Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 38, 
        United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following new section:
``Sec. 7330B. Review of mental health professionals
    ``(a) Review.--Not later than January 1 of each year, the Inspector 
General of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a review of 
mental health professionals employed by the Veterans Health 
Administration during the preceding fiscal year.
    ``(b) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date on which the 
review under subsection (a) is completed, the Inspector General shall 
submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate, and 
the Advisory Committee on Veterans with Psychological and Mental Health 
Needs under section 547 of this title a report on such review.
    ``(c) Contents.--With respect to each covered facility in each 
geographic service area of the Veterans Health Administration, the 
report shall include the following:
            ``(1) The number of full-time psychiatrists and 
        psychologists employed during the preceding fiscal year.
            ``(2) The number of part-time (or part-time equivalent) 
        psychiatrists and psychologists employed during the preceding 
        fiscal year.
            ``(3) The number of mental health nursing staff employed 
        during the preceding fiscal year.
            ``(4) The number of certified social workers assigned to 
        mental health programs during the preceding fiscal year.
            ``(5) The number of other direct-care mental health staff, 
        including counselors and outreach workers, employed during the 
        preceding fiscal year.
            ``(6) The number of administrative and support staff 
        assigned to mental health programs during the preceding fiscal 
        year.
            ``(7) The number of full-time direct-care employees for all 
        programs of the Veterans Health Administration.
            ``(8) The number of unfilled vacancies for mental health 
        positions that have been authorized for each geographic service 
        area (including the number of positions per each covered 
        facility) and the average length of time such positions remain 
        unfilled.
    ``(d) Definition.--In this section, the term `covered facility' 
includes each medical center, facility, and community-based outpatient 
clinic of the Veterans Health Administration.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of chapter 73 is amended by inserting after the item 
        relating to section 7330A the following new item:

``7330B. Review of mental health professionals''.
    (b) Report.--Not later than October 1, 2011, the Inspector General 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate, and the Advisory Committee on Veterans 
with Psychological and Mental Health Needs under section 547 of title 
38, United States Code, as added by section 3 of this Act, a report 
under section 7330B of such title, as added by subsection (a) of this 
section, with respect to each of fiscal years 2004 through 2009.

SEC. 3. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL AND MENTAL 
              HEALTH NEEDS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter III of chapter 5 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 547. Advisory committee on veterans with psychological and 
              mental health needs
    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish an advisory 
committee to be known as the Advisory Committee on Veterans with 
Psychological and Mental Health Needs (in this section referred to as 
the `Committee').
    ``(b) Membership.--The Committee shall consist of members appointed 
by the Secretary, including--
            ``(1) mental health practitioners of the Department;
            ``(2) veterans;
            ``(3) individuals representing veteran service 
        organizations; and
            ``(4) individuals representing other organizations related 
        to mental health or veterans.
    ``(c) Responsibilities of Committee.--(1) The Secretary shall, on a 
regular basis, consult with and seek the advice of the Committee with 
respect to the provision of mental health care to veterans.
    ``(2) In addition to providing advice under paragraph (1), the 
Committee shall--
            ``(A) analyze data contained in the reports submitted under 
        section 7330B of this title; and
            ``(B) collect information related to the provision of 
        mental health treatment to veterans by the Department, 
        including by visiting medical facilities of the Department from 
        time to time.
    ``(d) Reports.--Not later than March 1 of each year, beginning 
March 1, 2011, the Committee shall submit to the Secretary a report on 
the programs and activities of the Department that pertain to veterans 
with psychological and mental health needs.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 5 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``547. Advisory committee on veterans with psychological and mental 
                            health needs.''.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON CHRONIC MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate a report on chronic mental health 
conditions. The report shall include the following:
            (1) The number of veterans diagnosed with chronic mental 
        health conditions.
            (2) The anticipated needs of veterans of Operation Enduring 
        Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom with respect to the 
        treatment of chronic mental health conditions.
            (3) With respect to treating the veterans described in 
        paragraph (2), the anticipated needs of the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs related to--
                    (A) the number (by type) of staff of the Veterans 
                Health Administration;
                    (B) the number (by type) of facilities of the 
                Veterans Health Administration;
                    (C) the equipment and other resources used in such 
                treatment; and
                    (D) the amount of funding required by the 
                Secretary.
            (4) The optimal panel size of patients for mental health 
        professionals treating the veterans described in paragraphs (1) 
        and (2).

SEC. 5. STUDY ON SUBSTANCE-USE DISORDERS AND REHABILITATION.

    (a) Study.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a study 
of substance-use disorders among veterans. Such study shall include--
            (1) the barriers to rehabilitation and treatment of such 
        substance-use disorders;
            (2) the effect early intervention services have on treating 
        substance-use disorders;
            (3) the effect counseling, including couples and family 
        counseling, has on treating substance-use disorders; and
            (4) developing programs to combat any stigmas related to 
        treating substance-use disorders that prevent veterans from 
        seeking such treatment.
    (b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate a report on the study required by 
subsection (a).

SEC. 6. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORTS ON MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS.

    (a) MHSP and UMHS.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
        United States shall conduct a study to assess--
                    (A) the progress of the Secretary of Veterans 
                Affairs in implementing the Mental Health Strategic 
                Plan of the Veterans Health Administration of the 
                Department of Veterans Affairs (published November 
                2004); and
                    (B) the status of the Uniform Mental Health 
                Services handbook of the Veterans Health Administration 
                (Veterans Health Administration handbook 1160.01, 
                published September 11, 2008) at the end of fiscal year 
                2010.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 30 days after the study under 
        paragraph (1) is completed, the Comptroller General shall 
        submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the 
        Senate, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs a report on the 
        study, including the number of full-time mental health 
        professionals the Comptroller General determines necessary to 
        implement the Mental Health Strategic Plan and the Uniform 
        Mental Health Services handbook.
    (b) VERA System.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate, and the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs a report on any modifications to the Veterans' 
Equitable Resource Allocation system of the Veterans Health 
Administration that the Comptroller General determines necessary for 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to meet the mental health needs of 
veterans.
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