Not Just a Number Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4157 To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to prepare an annual report on suicide prevention, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 15, 2023 Mr. CONNOLLY (for himself and Ms. MACE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to prepare an annual report on suicide prevention, 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 ‘‘Not Just a Number 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. NATIONAL VETERAN SUICIDE PREVENTION AN- 6 NUAL REPORT. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 8 the date of the enactment of this Act, and not later than 9 September 30 of each year thereafter, the Secretary of 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:00 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4157.IH H4157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4157 IH Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appropriate commit- 1 tees of Congress and publish on a publicly available 2 website of the Department of Veterans Affairs a report 3 to be known as the ‘‘National Veteran Suicide Prevention 4 Annual Report’’. 5 (b) EXTENSION.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary requires an 7 extension of the deadline for a report under sub- 8 section (a), the Secretary shall submit to the appro- 9 priate committees of Congress a written request for 10 such an extension. 11 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each written request under 12 paragraph (1) for an extension for a report shall in- 13 clude the following: 14 (A) The rationale for the delay in submit- 15 ting the report. 16 (B) An explanation of the need for an ex- 17 tension. 18 (C) A proposed amended date for the sub- 19 mittal and publication of the report. 20 (c) BRIEFING.—Before submitting a report under 21 subsection (a), the Secretary shall brief the appropriate 22 committees of Congress on the report. 23 (d) ELEMENTS OF REPORT.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:00 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4157.IH H4157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4157 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Each report under sub- 1 section (a) shall include the findings of the national 2 analysis of veteran suicide rates for the latest year 3 data is available and shall include trends and com- 4 parisons to previous years. 5 (2) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—Each report 6 under subsection (a) shall include, for the year cov- 7 ered by the report, the following: 8 (A) Suicide rates of veterans disaggregated 9 by age, gender, and race or ethnicity. 10 (B) Trends in suicide rates of veterans 11 compared to engagement of those veterans with 12 health care from the Veterans Health Adminis- 13 tration, including an examination of trends in 14 suicide rates or deaths among— 15 (i) veterans who have recently received 16 health care from the Veterans Health Ad- 17 ministration as compared to veterans who 18 have never received health care from the 19 Veterans Health Administration; 20 (ii) veterans who are enrolled in the 21 patient enrollment system of the Depart- 22 ment of Veterans Affairs under section 23 1705(a) of title 38, United States Code, as 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:00 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4157.IH H4157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4157 IH compared to veterans who have never en- 1 rolled in such system; 2 (iii) veterans who have recently used 3 services from a Vet Center as compared to 4 veterans who have never used such serv- 5 ices; 6 (iv) veterans who have a diagnosis of 7 substance use disorder; and 8 (v) other groups of veterans relating 9 to engagement with health care from the 10 Veterans Health Administration, as the 11 Secretary considers practicable. 12 (C) Trends in suicide rates of veterans 13 compared to engagement of those veterans with 14 benefits from the Veterans Benefits Administra- 15 tion, including an examination of trends in sui- 16 cide rates or deaths among— 17 (i) veterans who are currently using, 18 have previously used, or have never used 19 educational assistance under the laws ad- 20 ministered by the Secretary; 21 (ii) veterans who are currently receiv- 22 ing, have previously received, or have never 23 received services or assistance under chap- 24 ter 31 of title 38, United States Code; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:00 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4157.IH H4157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4157 IH (iii) with respect to compensation 1 under chapter 11 of such title— 2 (I) veterans who were recipients 3 of such compensation as compared to 4 veterans who never applied for such 5 compensation prior to death; 6 (II) veterans who had a claim de- 7 nied for such compensation prior to 8 death; 9 (III) veterans who had a pending 10 claim for such compensation at time 11 of death; and 12 (IV) veterans who had an entitle- 13 ment for such compensation reduced 14 prior to death; 15 (iv) veterans who are currently receiv- 16 ing or have never received pension under 17 chapter 15 of title 38, United States Code, 18 excluding those who have never received 19 pension benefits but who were receiving 20 compensation benefits; 21 (v) veterans who are currently using, 22 have previously used, or have never used 23 programs or services provided by the 24 Homeless Programs Office of the Depart- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:00 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4157.IH H4157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4157 IH ment, including an examination of trends 1 in suicide rates or deaths among veterans 2 who made contact with such office but 3 were denied or deemed ineligible for any 4 such program or service; 5 (vi) with respect to housing loans 6 guaranteed by the Secretary under chapter 7 37 of title 38, United States Code— 8 (I) veterans who applied for such 9 a loan, whether their application was 10 accepted or not; 11 (II) veterans who are current re- 12 cipients of, were previously recipients 13 of, or have never received such a loan; 14 and 15 (III) veterans who were turned 16 down for such a loan by a lender; 17 (vii) with respect to financial hard- 18 ships— 19 (I) veterans facing health care 20 debts; 21 (II) veterans owing debts to the 22 Department; 23 (III) veterans facing foreclosure 24 or bankruptcy; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:00 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4157.IH H4157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4157 IH (IV) other relevant debts owed by 1 a veteran related to claims for bene- 2 fits under the laws administered by 3 the Secretary; 4 (viii) veterans who were involved in a 5 veterans treatment court program, whether 6 they graduated successfully or not; and 7 (ix) veterans who were successfully 8 contacted, unsuccessfully contacted, or 9 never contacted by the Department 10 through the Solid Start program under 11 section 6320 of title 38, United States 12 Code. 13 (3) STRATEGY AND RECOMMENDATIONS.— 14 (A) INITIAL REPORT.—The initial report 15 under subsection (a) shall include a strategy 16 and recommendations developed by the Sec- 17 retary of Veterans Affairs, in collaboration with 18 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 19 and Prevention and the Secretary of Defense, 20 for— 21 (i) improving data collection at the 22 State and local levels to accurately capture 23 suicide deaths of veterans; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:00 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4157.IH H4157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4157 IH (ii) improving the timeliness, efficacy, 1 and standardization of data reporting on 2 suicide deaths of veterans at the Federal 3 level, including by the Centers for Disease 4 Control and Prevention, the Department of 5 Defense, and the Department of Veterans 6 Affairs; 7 (iii) improving the timeliness of identi- 8 fication and analysis of suicide deaths of 9 veterans by Federal agencies, including the 10 Centers for Disease Control and Preven- 11 tion, the Department of Defense, and the 12 Department of Veterans Affairs; and 13 (iv) any other necessary process im- 14 provements for improving the timeliness, 15 efficacy, and standardization of reporting 16 of data relating to suicide deaths of vet- 17 erans, particularly with respect to the an- 18 nual report under this section. 19 (B) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—Each report 20 after the initial report under subsection (a) 21 shall include updates on actions taken to meet 22 the strategy and recommendations developed 23 under subparagraph (A). 24 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:00 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4157.IH H4157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4157 IH (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 1 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 2 gress’’ means the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 3 the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 4 of the House of Representatives. 5 (2) VET CENTER.—The term ‘‘Vet Center’’ 6 means a center for readjustment counseling and re- 7 lated mental health services for veterans under sec- 8 tion 1712A of title 38, United States Code. 9 SEC. 3. REPORT ON ADDITIONAL BENEFITS AND SERVICES 10 FROM DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 11 TO PREVENT VETERAN SUICIDE. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than three years after 13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 14 Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Vet- 15 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Vet- 16 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and publish 17 on a publicly available website of the Department of Vet- 18 erans Affairs a report that analyzes which benefits and 19 services from the Department, including the Veterans 20 Benefits Administration, have the greatest impact on pre- 21 vention of suicide among veterans, including recommenda- 22 tions for potential expansion of services and benefits to 23 reduce the number of veteran suicides. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:00 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4157.IH H4157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4157 IH (b) ASSESSMENT OF SOLID START PROGRAM.—The 1 report required by subsection (a) shall include an analysis 2 of the effectiveness of the Solid Start program under sec- 3 tion 6320 of title 38, United States Code, on prevention 4 of suicide among veterans. 5 SEC. 4. TOOLKIT FOR STATE AND LOCAL CORONERS AND 6 MEDICAL EXAMINERS ON BEST PRACTICES 7 FOR IDENTIFYING AND REPORTING ON SUI- 8 CIDE DEATHS OF VETERANS. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Af- 10 fairs, in collaboration with the Director of the Centers for 11 Disease Control and Prevention, shall develop a toolkit for 12 State and local coroners and medical examiners that con- 13 tains best practices for— 14 (1) accurately identifying and reporting suicide 15 deaths of veterans, including how to identify veteran 16 status; and 17 (2) reporting such deaths to the Centers for 18 Disease Control and Prevention and other applicable 19 entities. 20 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Not later than two years after 21 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 22 make the toolkit developed under subsection (a) available 23 on a publicly available website of the Department of Vet- 24 erans Affairs. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:00 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4157.IH H4157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 4157 IH (c) OUTREACH.—The Secretary, in collaboration with 1 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 2 vention, shall conduct outreach to appropriate State and 3 local agencies to promote the availability and use of the 4 toolkit developed under subsection (a). 5 SEC. 5. STUDY ON FEASIBILITY AND ADVISABILITY OF CRE- 6 ATING A SUICIDE PREVENTION OFFICE OF 7 THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—After the submittal by the Comp- 9 troller General of the United States to the Committee on 10 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Vet- 11 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives of the man- 12 agement review required under section 403 of the Com- 13 mander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care 14 Improvement Act of 2019 (Public Law 116–171; 134 15 Stat. 810), which required a management review of the 16 mental health and suicide prevention services provided by 17 the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Vet- 18 erans Affairs shall— 19 (1) review the findings and recommendations of 20 the management review; and 21 (2) conduct a study on the feasibility and advis- 22 ability of creating a suicide prevention office of the 23 Department of Veterans Affairs at the level of the 24 Office of the Secretary that would elevate suicide 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:00 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4157.IH H4157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 4157 IH prevention as a top priority across the entire De- 1 partment, including with respect to the work and 2 programs of the Veterans Benefits Administration 3 and under partnerships with other entities, including 4 other Federal agencies and non-governmental part- 5 ners. 6 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years 8 after the submittal by the Comptroller General of 9 the management review described in subsection (a), 10 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Vet- 11 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 12 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a 13 report summarizing— 14 (A) any actions planned or taken, includ- 15 ing reorganizations or changes to reporting or 16 governance structures, in response to the man- 17 agement review, including any completion dates 18 or targeted completion dates for any such ac- 19 tions; and 20 (B) the results of the study required under 21 subsection (a)(2), which shall include an exam- 22 ination of the considerations for creating a sui- 23 cide prevention office of the Department of Vet- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:00 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4157.IH H4157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 4157 IH erans Affairs at the level of the Office of the 1 Secretary, including— 2 (i) benefits and potential drawbacks; 3 (ii) projected costs and staffing needs, 4 including new full-time equivalent employ- 5 ees and transferred full-time equivalent 6 employees; and 7 (iii) suggested organizational and [Text truncated for display. 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