[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6873 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6873

  To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to include information 
relating to the rate of suicide among covered Reserves in each National 
Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report of the Office of Mental Health 
     and Suicide Prevention of the Department of Veterans Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 19, 2023

    Mr. Reschenthaler (for himself, Mr. Kilmer, and Mr. Van Orden) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to include information 
relating to the rate of suicide among covered Reserves in each National 
Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report of the Office of Mental Health 
     and Suicide Prevention of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Each year since 2016, the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs has produced an annual report regarding suicide 
        mortality of ``veterans'', defined as persons who--
                    (A) were activated for Federal military service; 
                and
                    (B) were not performing such Federal military 
                service at the time of death.
            (2) Since 2020, the National Veteran Suicide Prevention 
        Annual Report of the Office of Mental Health and Suicide 
        Prevention of the Department has not included information 
        relating to the rate of suicide among former members of the 
        Guard or Reserve who were never activated for Federal military 
        service.
            (3) In 2018, there were 538 suicides among former members 
        of the Armed Forces who were never activated for Federal 
        military service, an average of 1.5 suicide deaths per day 
        according to the 2020 National Veteran Suicide Prevention 
        Annual Report.
            (4) According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, there 
        is ongoing collaboration between suicide prevention and 
        surveillance scientists in the Department of Defense and the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs with respect to suicide 
        mortality among former members of the Armed Forces who were 
        never activated for Federal military service.

SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF RATE OF SUICIDE AMONG COVERED RESERVES IN NATIONAL 
              VETERAN SUICIDE PREVENTION ANNUAL REPORTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Defense, shall include the rate of suicide among 
covered Reserves in each National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual 
Report of the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention of the 
Department (or any successor document).
    (b) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The terms ``active military, naval, air, or space 
        service'' and ``reserve component'' have the meanings given 
        such terms in section 101 of title 38, United States Code.
            (2) The term ``covered Reserve'' means a former member of a 
        reserve component of one of the Armed Forces who did not serve 
        in the active military, naval, air, or space service.
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