[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 579 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 579

   To amend title 10, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
Defense to provide members of the Individual Ready Reserve, Individual 
Mobilization Augmentees, and inactive members of the National Guard who 
served in Afghanistan or Iraq with information on counseling to prevent 
                    suicide, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 15, 2011

Mr. Lautenberg introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 10, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
Defense to provide members of the Individual Ready Reserve, Individual 
Mobilization Augmentees, and inactive members of the National Guard who 
served in Afghanistan or Iraq with information on counseling to prevent 
                    suicide, 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 ``Sergeant Coleman S. Bean Reserve 
Component Suicide Prevention Act''.

SEC. 2. SUICIDE AMONG MEMBERS OF THE INDIVIDUAL READY RESERVE AND 
              INDIVIDUAL MOBILIZATION AUGMENTEES.

    (a) Finding.--Congress finds that a veteran who is either a member 
of the Individual Ready Reserve, an Individual Mobilization Augmentee, 
or an inactive member of the National Guard and is not assigned to a 
unit that musters regularly and has an established support structure is 
less likely to be helped by existing suicide prevention programs 
carried out by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs.
    (b) In General.--
            (1) Suicide prevention.--Chapter 55 of title 10, United 
        States Code, is amended by adding after section 1074l the 
        following new section:
``Sec. 1074m. Suicide prevention for members of the Individual Ready 
              Reserve, individual mobilization augmentees, and inactive 
              members of the National Guard
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that each 
covered member receives a telephone call described in subsection (b) 
not less than once every 90 days during the period in which--
            ``(1) the covered member is a member of the Individual 
        Ready Reserve;
            ``(2) the Secretary determines that the covered member is 
        an individual mobilization augmentee; or
            ``(3) the covered member is a member of the inactive 
        National Guard.
    ``(b) Counseling Call.--A telephone call described in this 
subsection is a call from properly trained personnel to determine the 
emotional, psychological, medical, and career needs and concerns of the 
covered member.
    ``(c) Referral.--(1) The personnel making a telephone call 
described in subsection (b) shall refer a covered member identified as 
being at-risk of self-caused harm to the nearest military medical 
treatment facility, accredited TRICARE provider, or other private 
provider in accordance with paragraph (3) for immediate evaluation and 
treatment by a qualified mental health care provider.
    ``(2) If a covered member is referred under paragraph (1), the 
Secretary shall confirm that the member has received the evaluation and 
any necessary treatment.  
    ``(3) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall refer a 
covered member to a qualified private mental health care provider if 
the Secretary determines that such private provider will ensure that 
such member will receive treatment and assistance without delay.
    ``(d) Reports.--Not later than January 31 of each year, beginning 
in 2013, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on--
            ``(1) the number of covered members who have been referred 
        for counseling or mental health treatment under this section, 
        as well as the health and career status of such members; and
            ``(2) any resource, regulatory, or statutory issues that 
        may be impeding the counseling calls under this section from 
        reaching all covered members.
    ``(e) Covered Member Defined.--In this section, the term `covered 
member' means--
            ``(1) a member of the Individual Ready Reserve described in 
        section 10144(b) of this title who has deployed to Afghanistan 
        or Iraq in support of a contingency operation on or after 
        September 11, 2001;
            ``(2) a member of a reserve component who the Secretary 
        determines is an individual mobilization augmentee who has 
        deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq in support of a contingency 
        operation on or after September 11, 2001; or
            ``(3) a member of the inactive National Guard who has 
        deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq in support of a contingency 
        operation on or after September 11, 2001.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the 
        item relating to section 1074l the following new item:

``1074m. Suicide prevention for members of the Individual Ready 
                            Reserve, individual mobilization 
                            augmentees, and inactive members of the 
                            National Guard.''.
    (c) GAO Report.--The Comptroller General of the United States, in 
cooperation with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a 
report on suicide among covered members (as defined in section 1074m(e) 
of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (b)), including 
how many such members who have separated from service have committed 
suicide.
    (d) Use of Peer Counseling.--Consistent with the findings of the 
August 2010 report titled ``The Final Report of the Department of 
Defense Task Force on the Prevention of Suicide by Members of the Armed 
Forces'', the Secretary of Defense shall develop, evaluate, and more 
widely disseminate programs (including peer-to-peer counseling) that 
promote--
            (1) connectedness between members of the Armed Forces and 
        the family, peers, and the immediate chain of command of the 
        members; and
            (2) suicide risk identification and response with 
        particular emphasis on members of the Reserve Components.
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