[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 117 (Thursday, June 25, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S3574]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2184. Ms. SINEMA (for herself and Mr. Cotton) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 4049, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2021 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle C of title VII, add the following:
SEC. 752. PILOT PROGRAM ON PRE-PROGRAMMING OF SUICIDE
PREVENTION RESOURCES INTO SMART DEVICES ISSUED
TO MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.
(a) In General.--Commencing not later than 120 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Defense shall carry out a pilot program under which the
Secretary--
(1) pre-downloads the Virtual Hope Box application of the
Defense Health Agency, or successor application, on smart
devices individually issued to members of the Armed Forces;
(2) pre-programs the National Suicide Hotline number and
Veterans Crisis Line number into the contacts for such
devices; and
(3) provides training, as part of training on suicide
awareness and prevention conducted throughout the Department
of Defense, on the preventative resources described in
paragraphs (1) and (2).
(b) Duration.--The Secretary shall carry out the pilot
program under this section for a two-year period.
(c) Scope.--The Secretary shall determine the appropriate
scope of individuals participating in the pilot program under
this section to best represent each Armed Force and to ensure
a relevant sample size.
(d) Identification of Other Resources.--In carrying out the
pilot program under this section, the Secretary shall
coordinate with the Director of the Defense Health Agency and
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to identify other useful
technology-related resources for use in the pilot program.
(e) Report.--Not later than 30 days after completing the
pilot program under this section, the Secretary shall submit
to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the
House of Representatives a report on the pilot program.
(f) 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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