[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3628-S3629]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 6517. Mr. WARNER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2027 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 H of title V, add the following:

     SEC. 587. IMPROVEMENTS TO OVERSIGHT, EVALUATION, AND 
                   IMPLEMENTATION OF NON-CLINICAL SUICIDE 
                   PREVENTION TRAINING.

       (a) Guidance and Reporting Requirements.--Not later than 
     180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Under 
     Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness shall issue 
     guidance requiring each military department to submit 
     annually to the Defense Suicide Prevention Office data 
     regarding completion of required non-clinical suicide 
     prevention training for members of the Armed Forces. The 
     guidance shall--
       (1) prescribe standardized reporting requirements;
       (2) provide for collection of active, reserve, and National 
     Guard component data, as applicable;
       (3) establish common metrics for measuring completion 
     rates; and
       (4) enable the Defense Suicide Prevention Office to monitor 
     department-wide compliance and inform policy development.
       (b) Monitoring and Corrective Action.--The Secretary of 
     each military department shall ensure that the office 
     responsible for suicide prevention--
       (1) regularly monitors completion of required annual non-
     clinical suicide prevention training across the military 
     department;
       (2) identifies organizations or commands with incomplete 
     training requirements;
       (3) notifies appropriate prevention personnel and 
     commanders when deficiencies are identified; and
       (4) establishes procedures for corrective action and 
     follow-up to ensure completion of required training.
       (c) Standardization of Training Records.-- The Secretary of 
     each military department shall establish standardized 
     procedures for recording approved annual non-clinical suicide 
     prevention training in the applicable enterprise training 
     management systems. Such procedures shall--
       (1) provide uniform course titles and identifiers;
       (2) ensure reliable and accurate data collection;
       (3) prevent duplicate or inconsistent entries; and

[[Page S3629]]

       (4) enable headquarters-level oversight of training 
     completion.
       (d) Evaluation of Training Effectiveness.--Not later than 
     one year after the date of enactment of this Act, each 
     military department shall develop and implement a written 
     evaluation plan for annual non-clinical suicide prevention 
     training. Each such plan shall--
       (1) identify desired training outcomes and performance 
     measures;
       (2) assess participant knowledge and behavioral outcomes;
       (3) measure the extent to which training objectives are 
     achieved;
       (4) identify opportunities for improvement;
       (5) include periodic review and updating of training 
     content; and
       (6) incorporate leading practices for program evaluation.
       (e) Department-wide Assessment Framework.--The Under 
     Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, acting 
     through the Director of the Defense Suicide Prevention 
     Office, shall establish a framework for assessing the 
     effectiveness of non-clinical suicide prevention training 
     throughout the Department of Defense and shall periodically 
     review data provided by the military departments to identify 
     trends, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
       (f) Project Management and Implementation of Independent 
     Review Committee Recommendations.--The Director of the 
     Defense Suicide Prevention Office, in coordination with the 
     Secretaries of the military departments, shall maintain 
     project plans for implementation of recommendations relating 
     to non-clinical suicide prevention training made by the 
     Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee. 
     Such project plans shall--
       (1) identify milestones, deliverables, and responsible 
     officials;
       (2) include procedures for managing uncertainty and 
     changing requirements;
       (3) provide for iterative updates as additional information 
     becomes available;
       (4) assess risks to implementation, including staffing and 
     resource challenges;
       (5) identify mitigation strategies; and
       (6) establish mechanisms for tracking progress toward 
     completion.
       (g) Briefing and Report.--Not later than 270 days after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter 
     through 2030, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the 
     Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of 
     Representatives a report describing--
       (1) department-wide training completion rates;
       (2) actions taken to address deficiencies in training 
     completion;
       (3) results of evaluations conducted under subsection (d);
       (4) progress implementing recommendations of the Suicide 
     Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee relating 
     to training; and
       (5) any legislative or resource requirements necessary to 
     improve non-clinical suicide prevention training.
                                 ______