[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4305 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4305

To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide an individual with a 
  mental health assessment before the individual enlists in the Armed 
      Forces or is commissioned as an officer in the Armed Forces.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 26, 2014

Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mr. Roe of 
      Tennessee, Mrs. Christensen, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Kelly of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. Marino, Mr. Jones, Mr. Bishop of Utah, Mr. Barletta, 
 and Mr. Meadows) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide an individual with a 
  mental health assessment before the individual enlists in the Armed 
      Forces or is commissioned as an officer in the Armed Forces.

    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 ``Medical Evaluation Parity for 
Servicemembers Act of 2014'' or the ``MEPS Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) More focus needs to be put on mental health in America.
            (2) The large number of suicides among veterans and members 
        of the Armed Forces is unacceptable, especially given that more 
        members have died by suicide than in combat.
            (3) Many of those suicides in the military were members of 
        the Armed Forces who never deployed.
            (4) Members of the Armed Forces, having been at war for 
        more than a decade, have been put through acute physical and 
        mental stress.
            (5) Many of the suicides in the Armed Forces can be 
        prevented, and studies have found that improved screening 
        reduced later behavioral problems by 78 percent and reduced 
        thoughts of suicide by more than half.
            (6) Although the military currently has a baseline 
        measurement process for physical health, the military does not 
        currently have similar standards for mental health.
            (7) It is important that the military ensures that the 
        members of the Armed Forces are both physically and mentally 
        fit for all the missions the United States requires.

SEC. 3. PRELIMINARY MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 31 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 520d. Preliminary mental health assessments
    ``(a) Provision of Mental Health Assessment.--Before any individual 
enlists in an armed force or is commissioned as an officer in an armed 
force, the Secretary concerned shall provide the individual with a 
mental health assessment. The Secretary shall use such results as a 
baseline for any subsequent mental health examinations, including such 
examinations provided under sections 1074f and 1074m of this title.
    ``(b) Use of Assessment.--The Secretary may not consider the 
results of a mental health assessment conducted under subsection (a) in 
determining the assignment or promotion of a member of the Armed 
Forces.
    ``(c) Application of Privacy Laws.--With respect to applicable laws 
and regulations relating to the privacy of information, the Secretary 
shall treat a mental health assessment conducted under subsection (a) 
in the same manner as the medical records of a member of the Armed 
Forces.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding after the item relating to section 
520c the following new item:

``520d. Preliminary mental health assessments.''.
    (c) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the National Institute of Mental 
        Health of the National Institutes of Health shall submit to 
        Congress and the Secretary of Defense a report on preliminary 
        mental health assessments of members of the Armed Forces.
            (2) Matters included.--The report under paragraph (1) shall 
        include the following:
                    (A) Recommendations with respect to establishing a 
                preliminary mental health assessment of members of the 
                Armed Forces to bring mental health screenings to 
                parity with physical screenings of members.
                    (B) Recommendations with respect to the composition 
                of the mental health assessment, best practices, and 
                how to track assessment changes relating to traumatic 
                brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder, and 
                other conditions.
            (3) Coordination.--The National Institute of Mental Health 
        shall carry out paragraph (1) in coordination with the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Director of the Centers for 
        Disease Control and Prevention, the surgeons general of the 
        military departments, and other relevant experts.
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