[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 189 (Wednesday, October 27, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7431-S7432]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3938. Ms. SINEMA (for herself and Mr. Blunt) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr.
Reed and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2022 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 F of title V, add the following:
SEC. 583. NON-MEDICAL COUNSELING SERVICES FOR MILITARY
FAMILIES.
Section 1781 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(d) Non-medical Counseling Services.--(1) In carrying out
its duties under subsection (b), the Office may coordinate
programs and activities for the provision of non-medical
counseling services to military families through the
Department of Defense Military and Family Life Counseling
Program.
``(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a mental
health professional described in paragraph (3) may provide
non-medical counseling services at any location in a State,
the District of Columbia, or a territory or possession of the
United States, without regard to where the provider or
recipient of such services is located, if the provision of
such services is within the scope of the authorized Federal
duties of the provider.
[[Page S7432]]
``(3) A mental health professional described in this
subsection is a person who is--
``(A) a currently licensed or certified mental health care
provider who holds an unrestricted license or certification
that is--
``(i) issued by a State, the District of Columbia, or a
territory or possession of the United States; and
``(ii) recognized by the Secretary of Defense;
``(B) a member of the uniformed services, a civilian
employee of the Department of Defense, or a contractor
designated by the Secretary; and
``(C) performing authorized duties for the Department of
Defense under a program or activity referred to in paragraph
(1).
``(4) In this subsection, the term `non-medical counseling
services' means mental health care services that are non-
clinical, short-term, and solution-focused, and address
topics related to personal growth, development, and positive
functioning.''.
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