To establish a task force of the Department of Defense on mental health.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3011 To establish a task force of the Department of Defense on mental health. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 28, 2023 Mr. KILMER (for himself, Mr. WITTMAN, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. STEWART, Mr. RYAN, Mr. NICKEL, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. TONKO, Ms. WILD, Mr. WOMACK, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mrs. MCCLELLAN, Ms. TITUS, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, and Mr. NOR- CROSS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To establish a task force of the Department of Defense on mental health. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. TASK FORCE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DE- 3 FENSE ON MENTAL HEALTH. 4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Defense 5 shall establish a task force to examine matters relating 6 to the mental health of members of the Armed Forces. 7 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3011.IH H3011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3011 IH (1) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Secretary of De- 1 fense shall appoint to the task force individuals who 2 have demonstrated expertise in the following areas: 3 (A) National mental health policy. 4 (B) Military personnel policy. 5 (C) Research in the field of mental health. 6 (D) Clinical care in mental health. 7 (E) Military chaplain or pastoral care. 8 (2) NUMBER; COMPOSITION.—The Secretary 9 shall appoint not more than 15 individuals to the 10 task force in accordance with the following: 11 (A) DOD APPOINTEES.—One half of the 12 appointees shall include— 13 (i) at least one member of each of the 14 Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and 15 the National Guard; 16 (ii) at least one surgeon general of an 17 Armed Force; and 18 (iii) at least one dependent of a mem- 19 ber of the Armed Forces who has experi- 20 ence working with military families. 21 (B) NON-DOD APPOINTEES.—One half of 22 the appointees shall be individuals who are not 23 members of the Armed Forces, civilian employ- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3011.IH H3011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3011 IH ees of the Department of Defense, or depend- 1 ents of such members, including— 2 (i) an officer or employee of the De- 3 partment of Veterans Affairs; and 4 (ii) an officer or employee of the Sub- 5 stance Abuse and Mental Health Services 6 Administration of the Department of 7 Health and Human Services. 8 (C) DEADLINE.—The Secretary of Defense 9 shall appoint all members not later than 90 10 days after the date of the enactment of this 11 Act. 12 (D) CO-CHAIRS.—There shall be two co- 13 chairs of the task force, one of the whom shall 14 be designated by the Secretary at the time of 15 appointment from among the individuals ap- 16 pointed under subparagraph (A). The other co- 17 chair shall be selected from among the members 18 appointed under subparagraph (B) by members 19 so appointed. 20 (c) ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON MEN- 21 TAL HEALTH SERVICES.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months 23 after the date on which all members of the task 24 force have been appointed, the task force shall sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3011.IH H3011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3011 IH mit to the Secretary a report containing an assess- 1 ment of, and recommendations for improving, the ef- 2 ficacy of mental health services provided to members 3 of the Armed Forces by the Department of Defense. 4 (2) UTILIZATION OF OTHER EFFORTS.—In pre- 5 paring the report, the task force shall take into con- 6 sideration completed and ongoing efforts by the Sec- 7 retary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Af- 8 fairs to improve the efficacy of mental health care 9 provided to members of the Armed Forces. 10 (3) ELEMENTS.—The assessment and rec- 11 ommendations (including recommendations for legis- 12 lative or administrative action) shall include meas- 13 ures to improve the following: 14 (A) The awareness of the potential for 15 mental health conditions of members of the 16 Armed Forces. 17 (B) The access to, and efficacy of, existing 18 programs (include telehealth programs) in pri- 19 mary care and mental health care to prevent, 20 identify, and treat mental health conditions of 21 members of the Armed Forces, including pro- 22 grams for— 23 (i) forward-deployed troops; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3011.IH H3011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3011 IH (ii) members of the reserve compo- 1 nents; and 2 (iii) members assigned to remote or 3 austere duty locations. 4 (C) The access to adequate telehealth re- 5 sources including for members described in sub- 6 paragraph (B), including access to equipment, 7 bandwidth, and platforms used to deliver care. 8 (D) The assessment of disruptions to men- 9 tal health care as a result of frequent changes 10 to TRICARE eligibility and coverage for mem- 11 bers of the National Guard, as well as potential 12 benefits of more consistent care. 13 (E) Analysis of the potential effect on ac- 14 cess and outcomes for members serving on ac- 15 tive duty as a result of proposed cuts to mili- 16 tary end strengths regarding members with 17 medical military occupational specialties. 18 (F) The access to and programs for family 19 members of members of the Armed Forces, in- 20 cluding family members overseas. 21 (G) Access to, and quality of, private men- 22 tal health care received by members through 23 TRICARE. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3011.IH H3011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3011 IH (H) The reduction or elimination of bar- 1 riers to care, including the stigma associated 2 with mental health conditions, by measures in- 3 cluding enhanced confidentiality for members 4 who seek care for such conditions. 5 (I) The awareness of mental health serv- 6 ices available to dependents of members. 7 (J) The adequacy of outreach, education, 8 and support programs on mental health matters 9 for families of members. 10 (K) The early identification and treatment 11 of mental health and substance abuse problems 12 through the use of internal mass media commu- 13 nications (including radio, and television, social 14 media) and other education tools to change atti- 15 tudes within the Armed Forces regarding men- 16 tal health and substance abuse treatment. 17 (L) The transition from mental health care 18 furnished by the Secretary of Defense to such 19 care furnished by the Secretary of Veterans Af- 20 fairs. 21 (M) The availability of long-term follow-up 22 and access to care for mental health conditions 23 for members of the Individual Ready Reserve 24 and the Selected Reserve and for discharged, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3011.IH H3011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3011 IH separated, or retired members of the Armed 1 Forces. 2 (N) Collaboration between agencies of the 3 Department of Defense with responsibility for, 4 or jurisdiction over, the provision of mental 5 health services. 6 (O) Coordination between the Department 7 of Defense and civilian communities, including 8 State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments, 9 and local support organizations, with respect to 10 mental health services. 11 (P) Coordination between the Department 12 of Defense and relevant Federal stakeholders, 13 including the Substance Abuse and Mental 14 Health Administration, National Institutes of 15 Health, and the Centers for Disease Control. 16 (Q) The scope and efficacy of curricula 17 and training on mental health matters for com- 18 manders in the Armed Forces. 19 (R) The efficiency and effectiveness of pre- 20 and post-deployment mental health screenings, 21 including mental health screenings for members 22 of the Armed Forces. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3011.IH H3011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3011 IH (S) The effectiveness of mental health pro- 1 grams provided in languages other than 2 English. 3 (T) Tracking the use of behavioral health 4 services and related outcomes, including wait 5 times, continuity of care, symptom resolution, 6 and maintenance of improvements resulting 7 from treatment. 8 (U) Other matters the task force deter- 9 mines appropriate. 10 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.— 11 (1) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the task 12 force who is a member of the Armed Forces or a ci- 13 vilian officer or employee of the United States shall 14 serve without compensation (other than compensa- 15 tion to which entitled as a member of the Armed 16 Forces or an officer or employee of the United 17 States, as the case may be). Other members of the 18 task force shall be treated for purposes of section 19 3161 of title 5, United States Code, as having been 20 appointed under subsection (b) of such section. 21 (2) OVERSIGHT.—The Under Secretary of De- 22 fense for Personnel and Readiness shall oversee the 23 activities of the task force. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3011.IH H3011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3011 IH (3) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Wash- 1 ington Headquarters Services of the Department of 2 Defense shall provide the task force with personnel, 3 facilities, and other administrative support as nec- 4 essary for the performance of the duties of the task 5 force. 6 (4) ACCESS TO FACILITIES.—The Under Sec- 7 retary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness shall, 8 in coordination with the Secretaries of the military 9 departments, ensure appropriate access by the task 10 force to military installations and facilities for pur- 11 poses of the discharge of the duties of the task force. 12 (e) REPORT.— 13 (1) SUBMISSION TO SECRETARY OF DE- 14 FENSE.—The task force shall submit to the Sec- 15 retary of Defense a report on its activities under this 16 section. The report shall include— 17 (A) a description of the activities of the 18 task force; 19 (B) the assessment and recommendations 20 required by subsection (c); and 21 (C) other matters that the task force de- 22 termines appropriate. 23 (2) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 24 90 days after receipt of the report under paragraph 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3011.IH H3011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3011 IH (1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 1 Armed Services, and on Veterans’ Affairs, of the 2 Senate and the House of Representatives, a copy 3 such report. The Secretary may include in such sub- 4 mission comments on the report the Secretary deter- 5 mines appropriate. 6 (f) TERMINATION.—The task force shall terminate 7 90 days after the date on which the report of the task 8 force is submitted to Congress under subsection (e)(2). 9 (g) PLAN OF THE SECRETARY.—Not later than six 10 months after receipt of the report from the task force 11 under subsection (e), the Secretary of Defense shall de- 12 velop a plan based on the recommendations of the task 13 force and submit the plan to the congressional defense 14 committees. 15 (h) REPORTS BY THE SECRETARY.—For each of the 16 five years following the submission of the report from the 17 Department of Defense Task Force on Mental Health, the 18 Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional de- 19 fense committees a report on the recommendations made 20 by the Department of Defense Task Force on Mental 21 Health with respect to the Determinations. Department 22 of Defense. Each such report shall include— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3011.IH H3011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3011 IH (1) for each such recommendation, the deter- 1 mination of the Secretary of Defense whether to im- 2 plement the recommendation; 3 (2) in the case of a recommendation the Sec- 4 retary intends to implement, the intended timeline 5 for implementation, a description of any additional 6 resources or authorities required for such implemen- 7 tation, and the plan for such implementation; 8 (3) in the case of a recommendation the Sec- 9 retary determines is not advisable or feasible, the 10 analysis and justification of the Secretary in making 11 that determination; and 12 (4) in the case of a recommendation the Sec- 13 retary determines the Department is already imple- 14 menting, the analysis and justification of the Sec- 15 retary in making that determination. 16 (i) BRIEFINGS BY THE SECRETARY.—Not less than 17 once each of the five years following the submission of the 18 report, the Secretary of Defense shall provide to the con- 19 gressional defense committees a briefing on— 20 (1) the progress of the Secretary in analyzing 21 and implementing the recommendations made by the 22 task force; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3011.IH H3011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3011 IH (2) any programs, projects, or other activities of 1 the Department of Defense that are being carried 2 out to implement such recommendations; and 3 (3) the amount of funding provided for such 4 programs, projects, and activities. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3011.IH H3011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB