[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8144 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8144

  To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a 
 plan to address staffing of mental health providers of the Department 
              of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 1, 2020

Mrs. Hayes (for herself, Mr. Steube, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Morelle, Mr. Bishop 
of Georgia, Mr. Rush, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Fudge, Mr. Rouda, Mr. Carson of 
 Indiana, Ms. Wild, Mr. O'Halleran, Mr. Himes, Ms. Lee of California, 
 Mr. Soto, and Mr. Cardenas) introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a 
 plan to address staffing of mental health providers of the Department 
              of Veterans Affairs, 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 ``VA Mental Health Staffing Act''.

SEC. 2. STAFFING IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS OF 
              DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in 
consultation with the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, shall submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the 
Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of 
Representatives a plan to address staffing of mental health providers 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs, including filling any open 
positions.
    (b) Elements.--The plan required by subsection (a) shall include 
the following:
            (1) An estimate of the number of positions for mental 
        health providers of the Department that need to be filled to 
        meet demand.
            (2) An identification of the steps that the Secretary will 
        take to address mental health staffing for the Department.
            (3) A description of any region-specific hiring incentives 
        to be used by the Secretary in consultation with the directors 
        of Veterans Integrated Service Networks and medical centers of 
        the Department.
            (4) A description of any local retention or engagement 
        incentives to be used by directors of Veterans Integrated 
        Service Networks.
            (5) Such recommendations for legislative or administrative 
        action as the Secretary considers necessary to aid in 
        addressing mental health staffing for the Department.
    (c) Report.--Not later than one year after the submittal of the 
plan required by subsection (a), 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 setting 
forth the number of mental health providers hired by the Department 
during the one-year period preceding the submittal of the report.
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