[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2231 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2231

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, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 9, 2014

Mr. Portman (for himself and Mr. Rockefeller) 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 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, 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 ``Medical Evaluation Parity for 
Servicemembers Act of 2014'' or the ``MEPS Act''.

SEC. 2. PRELIMINARY MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS BECOMING 
              MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.

    (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 Secretary of Health and 
        Human Services, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 
        and Prevention, the surgeons general of the military 
        departments, and other relevant experts.

SEC. 3. PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS AND MENTAL HEALTH SCREENINGS FOR CERTAIN 
              MEMBERS UNDERGOING SEPARATION FROM THE ARMED FORCES WHO 
              ARE NOT OTHERWISE ELIGIBLE FOR SUCH EXAMINATIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the military department concerned 
shall provide a comprehensive physical examination (including a 
screening for Traumatic Brain Injury) and a mental health screening to 
each member of the Armed Forces who, after a period of active duty of 
more than 180 days, is undergoing separation from the Armed Forces and 
is not otherwise provided such an examination or screening in 
connection with such separation from the Department of Defense or the 
Department of Veterans Affairs.
    (b) No Right to Health Care Benefits.--The provision of a physical 
examination or mental health screening to a member under subsection (a) 
shall not, by itself, be used to determine the eligibility of the 
member for any health care benefits from the Department of Defense or 
the Department of Veterans Affairs.
    (c) Funding.--Funds for the provision of physical examinations and 
mental health screenings under this section shall be derived from funds 
otherwise authorized to be appropriated for the military department 
concerned for the provision of health care to members of the Armed 
Forces.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON CAPACITY OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TO PROVIDE 
              ELECTRONIC COPY OF MEMBER SERVICE TREATMENT RECORDS TO 
              MEMBERS SEPARATING FROM THE ARMED FORCES.

    (a) Report Required.--Not later than six months after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to 
Congress a report setting forth an assessment of the capacity of the 
Department of Defense to provide each member of the Armed Forces who is 
undergoing separation from the Armed Forces an electronic copy of the 
member's service treatment record at the time of separation.
    (b) Matters Relating to the National Guard.--The assessment under 
subsection (a) with regards to members of the National Guard shall 
include an assessment of the capacity of the Department to ensure that 
the electronic copy of a member's service treatment record includes 
health records maintained by each State or territory in which the 
member served.
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