[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3304 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3304

  To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve the Veterans 
                              Crisis Line.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 8, 2016

   Mr. Thune introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve the Veterans 
                              Crisis Line.

    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 ``No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should 
Go Unanswered Act''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO VETERANS CRISIS LINE.

    (a) Quality Assurance Document.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
        develop a quality assurance document to use in carrying out the 
        Veterans Crisis Line.
            (2) Elements.--The quality assurance document developed 
        under paragraph (1) shall--
                    (A) outline clearly defined and measurable 
                performance indicators and objectives to improve the 
                responsiveness and performance of the Veterans Crisis 
                Line, including at backup call centers;
                    (B) include quantifiable timeframes to meet 
                designated objectives to assist the Secretary in 
                tracking the progress of the Veterans Crisis Line and 
                such backup call centers in meeting the performance 
                indicators and objectives outlined in subparagraph (A); 
                and
                    (C) with respect to the timeframes and objectives 
                described in subparagraph (B), be consistent with 
                guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget.
    (b) Plan.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall develop a plan to 
        ensure that each telephone call, text message, and other 
        communication received by the Veterans Crisis Line, including 
        at backup call centers, is answered in a timely manner by a 
        person, consistent with the guidance established by the 
        American Association of Suicidology.
            (2) Guidelines.--The plan developed under paragraph (1) 
        shall include guidelines to carry out periodic testing of the 
        Veterans Crisis Line, including such backup centers, during 
        each fiscal year to identify and correct any problems in a 
        timely manner.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
of the House of Representatives a report containing the quality 
assurance document developed under subsection (a) and the plan 
developed under subsection (b).
    (d) Veterans Crisis Line Defined.--In this section, the term 
``Veterans Crisis Line'' means the toll-free hotline for veterans 
established under section 1720F(h) of title 38, United States Code.
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