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II
116TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 2822
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and maintain a suicide
risk management and prevention and lethal means training course for
certain employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other
purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
NOVEMBER 7, 2019
Ms. DUCKWORTH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and
maintain a suicide risk management and prevention and
lethal means training course for certain employees of
the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other pur-
poses.
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. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Post–9/11 Veteran
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Suicide Prevention Counseling Act’’.
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•S 2822 IS
SEC. 2. SUICIDE RISK MANAGEMENT AND PREVENTION
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AND LETHAL MEANS TRAINING COURSE OF
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THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
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(a) DEVELOPMENT.—
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(1) INITIAL
DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than
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180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
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the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation
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with entities described in subsection (b), shall de-
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velop a suicide risk management and prevention and
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lethal means training course that is culturally appro-
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priate and addresses the concerns of firearm owners.
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(2) PERIODIC UPDATES.—The Secretary shall
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update the training under this subsection not less
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frequently than once every two years.
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(b) ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—The entities described in
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this subsection are the following:
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(1) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
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ices.
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(2) The National Institutes of Health.
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(3) Public and private institutions of higher
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education.
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(4) Experts in the assessment, treatment, and
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management of suicidal tendencies.
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(5) Relevant professional associations.
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•S 2822 IS
(6) Gun ownership groups, in order to reduce
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the stigma associated with firearm ownership and
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safe storage.
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(c) TRAINEES; FREQUENCY OF TRAINING.—The Sec-
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retary shall provide the most recent training developed
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under subsection (a) not less frequently than once every
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five years to each employee of the Veterans Health Admin-
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istration who regularly interacts with veterans in the
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course of such employment.
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(d) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall
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make the training developed under subsection (a) available
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to members of the public.
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Æ
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