[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6088]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              MEDICAL EVALUATION PARITY FOR SERVICEMEMBERS

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, yesterday afternoon U.S. 
Senators Rob Portman and Jay Rockefeller introduced the Medical 
Evaluation Parity for Servicemembers, or MEPS, Act, companion 
legislation to the bill that I introduced with the Congressman from 
Ohio, Mr. Tim Ryan, on March 27 of this year.
  Most are aware that incoming soldiers must pass a physical and 
medical evaluation, which is the case, but so many are shocked that 
there is no similar evaluation for mental health competency.
  Madam Speaker, according to recent studies, nearly half of all 
soldiers who tried suicide first attempted it before enlisting. A large 
number of suicides in the military were individuals who had never been 
deployed in a combat role.
  These studies give us insight into the mental well-being of our 
military, but what they also show is that we must know more.
  The bipartisan MEPS Act would require a preliminary mental health 
assessment for military recruits prior to joining the service, which 
will dramatically improve the way the military identifies and assesses 
mental health issues.
  The bill has no budget impact and has support from a large number of 
veterans groups. I thank my Senate colleagues for introducing this bill 
and encourage my colleagues in the House to join the support.

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