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I
116TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 4282
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop a training session
and a counseling session in suicide prevention and lethal means tailored
to veterans who served in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
Ms. UNDERWOOD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop a
training session and a counseling session in suicide pre-
vention and lethal means tailored to veterans who served
in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TRAIN-
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ING AND COUNSELING IN SUICIDE PREVEN-
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TION AND LETHAL MEANS.
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(a) TRAINING SESSION.—Not later than 180 days
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after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
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of Veterans Affairs shall develop a suicide prevention and
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lethal means training session tailored to veterans who
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served in the Armed Forces any time after September 11,
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2001. Such training shall—
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(1) be provided to all primary care practitioners
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of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and to other
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Department employees, as directed by the Secretary,
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by not later than 270 days after the date of the en-
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actment of this Act and at least once every five
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years thereafter;
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(2) be integrated into the whole health initiative
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of the Department; and
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(3) be updated at least once every two years.
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(b) COUNSELING SESSION.—
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 360 days
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after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
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retary shall develop a suicide prevention and lethal
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means counseling session tailored to veterans who
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served in the Armed Forces any time after Sep-
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tember 11, 2001. Such counseling shall—
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(A) be provided by primary care practi-
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tioners of the Department to—
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(i) all veterans enrolled in the patient
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enrollment system under section 1705 of
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title 38, United States Code, who served in
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•HR 4282 IH
the Armed Forces after September 11,
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2001; and
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(ii) other veterans, as determined by
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the Secretary;
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(B) be provided during the veterans’ first
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primary care appointment following develop-
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ment of the counseling session and subsequently
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as clinically appropriate; and
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(C) be integrated into the whole health ini-
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tiative of the Department.
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(2) LETHAL MEANS COUNSELING.—In this sub-
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section, the term ‘‘lethal means counseling’’ means
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counseling designed to—
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(A) assess whether a person at risk for sui-
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cide has access to lethal means; and
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(B) work with such person and the family
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and support system of such person to limit the
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access of the person to lethal means until the
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person is no longer at elevated risk of suicide.
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(c) CONSULTATION.—In developing the training and
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counseling sessions required by this section, the Secretary
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shall consult with the Secretary of Health and Human
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Services, the National Institutes of Health, public and pri-
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vate institutions of higher education, educators, experts in
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suicide assessment, treatment, and management, and af-
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fected professional associations.
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