,i  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dcje  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #bf1 #bjad    
,mr4 ,thompson of ,pennsylvania 7for    
himself1 ,mr4 ,ryan of ,ohio1 ,mr4 ,roe 
of ,tennessee1 ,mrs4 ,christensen1 ,mrs4
 ,napolitano1 ,mr4 ,kelly of            
,pennsylvania1 ,mr4 ,marino1 ,mr4       
,jones1 ,mr4 ,bishop of ,utah1 ,mr4     
,barletta1 and ,mr4 ,meadows7 introduced
 the following bill2 which was referred 
to the ,committee on ,armed ,services   
,a ,,bill  ,to amend title #aj1 ,united 
,states ,code1 to provide an individual 
with a mental health assessment before  
the individual enlists in the ,armed    
,forces or is commissioned as an officer
 in the ,armed ,forces4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,medical ,evaluation ,parity for        
,servicemembers ,act of #bjad or the    
,,meps ,act4  #b4 ,findings ,congress   
finds the following3  7#a7 ,more focus  
needs to be put on mental health in     
,america4  7#b7 ,the large number of    

suicides among veterans and members of  
the ,armed ,forces is unacceptable1     
especially given that more members have 
died by suicide than in combat4  7#c7   
,many of those suicides in the military 
were members of the ,armed ,forces who  
never deployed4  7#d7 ,members of the   
,armed ,forces1 having been at war for  
more than a decade1 have been put       
through acute physical and mental       
stress4  7#e7 ,many of the suicides in  
the ,armed ,forces can be prevented1 and
 studies have found that improved       
screening reduced later behavioral      
problems by #gh percent and reduced     
thoughts of suicide by more than half4  
7#f7 ,although the military currently   
has a baseline measurement process for  
physical health1 the military does not  
currently have similar standards for    
mental health4  7#g7 ,it is important   
that the military ensures that the      
members of the ,armed ,forces are both  
physically and mentally fit for all the 
missions the ,united ,states requires4  

#c4 ,preliminary mental health          
assessments  7a7 ,in general ,chapter   
#ca of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1
 is amended by adding at the end the    
following new section3  #ebj;d4         
,preliminary mental health assessments  
7a7 ,provision of mental health         
assessment ,before any individual       
enlists in an armed force or is         
commissioned as an officer in an armed  
force1 the ,secretary concerned shall   
provide the individual with a mental    
health assessment4 ,the ,secretary shall
 use such results as a baseline for any 
subsequent mental health examinations1  
including such examinations provided    
under sections #ajgd;f and #ajgdm of    
this title4  7b7 ,use of assessment ,the
 ,secretary may not consider the results
 of a mental health assessment conducted
 under subsection 7a7 in determining the
 assignment or promotion of a member of 
the ,armed ,forces4  7c7 ,application of
 privacy laws ,with respect to          
applicable laws and regulations relating

 to the privacy of information1 the     
,secretary shall treat a mental health  
assessment conducted under subsection   
7a7 in the same manner as the medical   
records of a member of the ,armed       
,forces4  4  7b7 ,clerical amendment    
,the table of sections at the beginning 
of such chapter is amended by adding    
after the item relating to section      
#ebj;c the following new item3  #ebj;d4 
,preliminary mental health assessments4 
4  7c7 ,report  7#a7 ,in general ,not   
later than #ahj days after the date of  
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,national ,institute of ,mental ,health 
of the ,national ,institutes of ,health 
shall submit to ,congress and the       
,secretary of ,defense a report on      
preliminary mental health assessments of
 members of the ,armed ,forces4  7#b7   
,matters included ,the report under     
paragraph 7#a7 shall include the        
following3  7,a7 ,recommendations with  
respect to establishing a preliminary   
mental health assessment of members of  

the ,armed ,forces to bring mental      
health screenings to parity with        
physical screenings of members4  7,b7   
,recommendations with respect to the    
composition of the mental health        
assessment1 best practices1 and how to  
track assessment changes relating to    
traumatic brain injuries1 post-traumatic
 stress disorder1 and other conditions4 
7#c7 ,coordination ,the ,national       
,institute of ,mental ,health shall     
carry out paragraph 7#a7 in coordination
 with the ,secretary of ,veterans       
,affairs1 the ,director of the ,centers 
for ,disease ,control and ,prevention1  
the surgeons general of the military    
departments1 and other relevant experts4