National Green Alert Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1342 To establish an interagency committee on the development of green alert systems that would be activated when a veteran goes missing, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 22, 2021 Ms. HASSAN (for herself and Ms. ERNST) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To establish an interagency committee on the development of green alert systems that would be activated when a veteran goes missing, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Green Alert 4 Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1342 IS SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON 1 DEVELOPMENT OF GREEN ALERT SYSTEMS. 2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 3 Green Alert System Advisory and Support Committee (re- 4 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘Committee’’). 5 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall be 7 composed of members appointed by the President, of 8 whom— 9 (A) not fewer than one shall be an em- 10 ployee of the Department of Justice with expe- 11 rience in coordinating the AMBER Alert com- 12 munications network, as that term is used in 13 subtitle A of title III of the PROTECT Act (34 14 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.); 15 (B) not fewer than one shall be an em- 16 ployee of the Department of Health and 17 Human Services, of which not fewer than one 18 shall be an employee of the Substance Abuse 19 and Mental Health Services Administration of 20 the Department of Health and Human Services; 21 (C) not fewer than one shall be an em- 22 ployee of the Department of Veterans Affairs; 23 (D) not fewer than one shall be an em- 24 ployee of the Department of Transportation; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1342 IS (E) not fewer than one shall be a veteran 1 (as defined in section 101 of title 38, United 2 States Code) who— 3 (i) is not eligible for appointment to 4 the Committee under subparagraph (A), 5 (B), (C), or (D); and 6 (ii) retired or otherwise honorably sep- 7 arated from the Armed Forces with a mili- 8 tary pay grade of O–7 or higher; and 9 (F) not fewer than one shall be a member 10 of a veterans service organization who can dem- 11 onstrate familiarity with, or experience in, the 12 development of an alert or support system in a 13 State for either missing veterans or veteran 14 mental health. 15 (2) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—The President 16 shall appoint additional members of the Committee 17 from among individuals at the State, local, and trib- 18 al level who are experts in alert systems, such as the 19 AMBER Alert, as that term is used in subtitle A of 20 title III of the PROTECT Act (34 U.S.C. 20501 et 21 seq.). 22 (3) DATE.—The appointments of the members 23 of the Committee shall be made not later than 120 24 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1342 IS (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Committee 2 shall be appointed for the life of the Committee. 3 (2) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Com- 4 mittee— 5 (A) shall not affect the powers of the Com- 6 mittee; and 7 (B) shall be filled in the same manner as 8 the original appointment. 9 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 60 days after 10 the date on which all members of the Committee have been 11 appointed, the Committee shall hold the first meeting of 12 the Committee. 13 (e) MEETINGS.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall meet 15 not less frequently than twice each year. 16 (2) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 17 the Committee shall constitute a quorum, but a less- 18 er number of members may hold hearings. 19 (f) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 20 Committee shall select a Chairperson and Vice Chair- 21 person from among the members of the Committee. 22 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 23 (1) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 24 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1342 IS the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United 1 States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 2 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 3 and any possession of the United States. 4 (2) VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATION.—The 5 term ‘‘veterans service organization’’ means an orga- 6 nization recognized by the Secretary for the rep- 7 resentation of veterans under section 5902 of title 8 38, United States Code. 9 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMITTEE. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall develop best 11 practices and provide technical assistance to States to es- 12 tablish State systems, to be known as ‘‘green alert’’ sys- 13 tems, that would be activated when a veteran with a his- 14 tory of mental health issues, including neurocognitive dis- 15 orders, suicide attempts or impulses, or substance use dis- 16 order goes missing. 17 (b) MISSING VETERAN DETERMINATION.—The Com- 18 mittee shall determine the circumstances under which a 19 veteran is considered missing for purposes of this section. 20 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH PRIVACY LAWS.—The Com- 21 mittee shall ensure that the State systems described in 22 subsection (a) comply with applicable Federal and State 23 privacy laws. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1342 IS (d) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 1 of the enactment of this Act, the Committee shall submit 2 to the President and Congress a report that contains a 3 detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of the 4 Committee, together with the recommendations of the 5 Committee for such legislative and administrative action 6 as the Committee considers appropriate. 7 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 (1) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 9 ing given that term in section 2(g). 10 (2) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ means— 11 (A) a veteran as defined in section 101 of 12 title 38, United States Code; and 13 (B) any former member of the Armed 14 Forces, including any individual who received a 15 discharge under conditions other than honor- 16 able that is determined by the Secretary of De- 17 fense to have resulted from substance use dis- 18 order, a mental health issue, or a suicide at- 19 tempt. 20 SEC. 4. POWERS OF COMMITTEE. 21 (a) HEARINGS.—The Committee may hold such hear- 22 ings, sit and act at such times and places, take such testi- 23 mony, and receive such evidence as the Committee con- 24 siders advisable to carry out this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1342 IS (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee may secure 2 directly from any Federal agency such information 3 as the Committee considers necessary to carry out 4 this Act. 5 (2) FURNISHING INFORMATION.—On request of 6 the Chairperson of the Committee, the head of the 7 Federal agency shall furnish the information to the 8 Committee. 9 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Committee may use the 10 United States mails in the same manner and under the 11 same conditions as other Federal agencies. 12 (d) GIFTS.—The Committee may accept, use, and 13 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 14 SEC. 5. COMMITTEE PERSONNEL MATTERS. 15 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Committee 17 who is not an officer or employee of the Federal 18 Government shall be compensated at a rate equal to 19 the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay 20 prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule 21 under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, 22 for each day (including travel time) during which the 23 member is engaged in the performance of the duties 24 of the Committee. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1342 IS (2) FEDERAL MEMBERS.—A member of the 1 Committee who is an officer or employee of the 2 United States shall serve without compensation in 3 addition to that received for service as an officer or 4 employee of the United States. 5 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Com- 6 mittee shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 7 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees 8 of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 9 United States Code, while away from their home or reg- 10 ular places of business in the performance of services for 11 the Committee. 12 (c) STAFF.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the 14 Committee may, without regard to the civil service 15 laws (including regulations), appoint and terminate 16 an executive director and such other additional per- 17 sonnel as may be necessary to enable the Committee 18 to perform the duties of the Committee, except that 19 the employment of an executive director shall be 20 subject to confirmation by the Committee. 21 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Chairperson of the 22 Committee may fix the compensation of the execu- 23 tive director and other personnel without regard to 24 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1342 IS 5, United States Code, relating to classification of 1 positions and General Schedule pay rates, except 2 that the rate of pay for the executive director and 3 other personnel may not exceed the rate payable for 4 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 5 of that title. 6 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Any 7 Federal Government employee may be detailed to the 8 Committee without reimbursement, and such detail shall 9 be without interruption or loss of civil service status or 10 privilege. 11 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT- 12 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Committee may 13 procure temporary and intermittent services under section 14 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates for individ- 15 uals that do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual 16 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive 17 Schedule under section 5316 of that title. 18 SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF COMMITTEE. 19 The Committee shall terminate 180 days after the 20 date on which the Committee submits the report required 21 under section 3(d). 22 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 23 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro- 24 priated to carry out this Act $500,000. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1342 IS (b) AVAILABILITY.—Any amounts appropriated 1 under the authorization contained in this section shall re- 2 main available, without fiscal year limitation, until ex- 3 pended. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS