[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8486 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8486
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a program to
award grants for the development of predictive models to evaluate risk
factors that contribute to the incidence of suicide among veterans, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 23, 2026
Mr. Mackenzie (for himself and Mr. Gottheimer) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a program to
award grants for the development of predictive models to evaluate risk
factors that contribute to the incidence of suicide among veterans, 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 ``Data Driven Suicide Prevention and
Outreach Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS GRANT PROGRAM FOR PREDICTIVE
MODELS TO EVALUATE RISK FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO
SUICIDE AMONG VETERANS.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, acting
through the Center for Innovation for Care and Payment of the
Department of Veterans Affairs, shall establish and carry out a program
(in this section referred to as the ``Program'') to award grants to
eligible organizations described in subsection (b) to use artificial
intelligence to develop a predictive model to evaluate risk factors
contributing to the incidence of suicide among veterans.
(b) Eligibility.--An eligible organization described in this
subsection is a nonprofit entity, academic institution, private
research organization, or other entity with demonstrated capability and
experience--
(1) developing and deploying artificial intelligence and
machine learning solutions;
(2) analyzing health care data, including de-identification
and protection of--
(A) personally identifiable information; and
(B) protected health information;
(3) developing predictive models or decision-support tools
used in clinical or population health settings;
(4) applying advanced statistical methods or machine
learning techniques to large, complex health datasets; and
(5) complying with Department data security and
interoperability standards.
(c) Applications.--An eligible organization desiring a grant under
the Program shall submit to the Secretary an application in such form,
at such time, and containing such information and assurances as the
Secretary determines appropriate.
(d) Selection Procedures.--
(1) Number.--Subject to paragraph (4), the Secretary shall
select not fewer than two eligible organizations to which to
award a grant under the Program.
(2) Criteria.--In selecting an eligible organization
pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider the
following criteria:
(A) With respect to the VISN in which the
organization is located--
(i) the geographic distribution;
(ii) the complexity of applicable Veterans
Health Administration facilities; and
(iii) the density of the veteran
population.
(B) Geographic proximity to Veterans Health
Administration facilities.
(C) Demonstrated experience in collaborating with
local Department facilities and community partners.
(D) Demonstrated capability to deploy a predictive
analysis solution in a health care system that serves
more than 500,000 patients and beneficiaries.
(3) Priority.--In evaluating the criteria described in
paragraph (2), the Secretary shall give priority for selection
under paragraph (1) to eligible organizations--
(A) located in areas with--
(i) a high rate of suicide among veterans;
(ii) a high rate of calls to the Veterans
Crisis Line; and
(iii) long wait times for mental health
care services at Department facilities;
(B) with experience in administering predictive
analytics or population health solutions for
Government-owned health care systems pursuant to an
agreement with the Federal Government (including the
Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of
Defense, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services);
(C) with a demonstrated capability to deliver tools
that are--
(i) explicable;
(ii) interoperable; and
(iii) clinically actionable;
(D) that employ data scientists, clinicians, and
suicide prevention specialists;
(E) with existing infrastructure for secure data
storage and transmission that complies with Federal
cybersecurity requirements; and
(F) that agree to make any predictive model or
finding resulting from activities funded with a grant
under this section available to the Secretary for
Department of Veterans Affairs-wide implementation and
evaluation.
(4) Limitation.--The Secretary may not, pursuant to
paragraph (1), select an eligible organization located in a
VISN in which another eligible organization in receipt of a
grant under the Program is located.
(e) Capability.--Each eligible organization in receipt of a grant
under the Program shall ensure that the predictive model developed
using such grant has the capability to integrate data under the
jurisdiction of the Veterans Benefits Administration, including the
military service records of veterans, with clinical data under the
jurisdiction of the Veterans Health Administration.
(f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in subsection (d) may be
construed to require an eligible organization in receipt of a grant
under the Program to transfer to the Secretary ownership of the
predictive model developed using such grant, or any proprietary
technology associated with such predictive model.
(g) Termination Date.--The authority of the Secretary to carry out
the pilot program under this section shall terminate on September 30,
2029.
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``artificial intelligence'' has the meaning
given such term in section 238 of the John S. McCain National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-
232; 10 U.S.C. 2358 note).
(2) The term ``veteran'' has the meaning given such term in
section 101 of title 38, United States Code.
(3) The term ``Veterans Crisis Line'' means the toll-free
hotline for veterans established and operated under section
1720F of such title.
(4) The term ``VISN'' means a Veteran Integrated Services
Network.
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