,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #bahb  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,march #bg1    
#bjad ,mr4 ,walsh 7for himself and ,mr4 
,tester7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs  ,a  
,,bill  ,to expand and improve care     
provided to veterans and members of the 
,armed ,forces with mental health       
disorders or at risk of suicide1 to     
review the terms or characterization of 
the discharge or separation of certain  
individuals from the ,armed ,forces1 to 
require a pilot program on loan         
repayment for psychiatrists who agree to
 serve in the ,veterans ,health         
,administration of the ,department of   
,veterans ,affairs1 and for other       
purposes4  #a4 ,short title  ,this ,act 
may be cited as the ,suicide ,prevention
 for ,american ,veterans ,act4  #b4     
,extension of eligibility for           
domiciliary care for certain veterans   
who served in a theater of combat       

operations ,section #agaj7;e77#c77;,a7  
of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is 
amended by striking period of five years
 and inserting period of #ae years4  #c4
 ,review of characterization or terms of
 discharge from the ,armed ,forces of   
individuals with mental health disorders
 alleged to affect terms of discharge   
7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretaries of the
 military departments shall each provide
 for a process by which a covered       
individual may challenge the terms or   
characterization of the individual's    
discharge or separation from the ,armed 
,forces4  7b7 ,covered individuals ,for 
purposes of this section1 a covered     
individual is any individual as follows3
 7#a7 ,an individual who was discharged 
or separated from the ,armed ,forces for
 a personality disorder4  7#b7 ,an      
individual who-- 7,a7 was discharged or 
separated from the ,armed ,forces on a  
punitive basis1 or under other than     
honorable conditions2 and  7,b7 who     
alleges that the basis for such         

discharge or separation was a mental    
health injury or disorder incurred or   
aggravated by the individual during     
service in the ,armed ,forces4  7c7     
,discharge of process through boards of 
corrections of records ,the ,secretary  
of a military department shall carry out
 the process required by subsection 7a7 
through boards for the correction of    
military records of the military        
department concerned4  7d7              
,considerations on modification of terms
 of discharge or separation ,in deciding
 whether to modify the terms or         
characterization of an individual's     
discharge or separation pursuant to the 
process required by subsection 7a71 the 
,secretary of the military department   
concerned shall instruct boards to give 
due consideration to any mental health  
injury or disorder determined to have   
been incurred or aggravated by the      
individual during service in the ,armed 
,forces and to what bearing such injury 
or disorder may have had on the         

circumstances surrounding the           
individual's discharge or separation    
from the ,armed ,forces4  #d4           
,improvement of mental health care      
provided by ,department of ,veterans    
,affairs and ,department of ,defense    
7a7 ,evaluations of mental health care  
and suicide prevention programs  7#a7   
,in general ,not less frequently than   
once each year1 the ,secretary concerned
 shall provide for the conduct of an    
evaluation of the mental health care and
 suicide prevention programs carried out
 under the laws administered by such    
,secretary4  7#b7 ,elements ,each       
evaluation conducted under paragraph    
7#a7 shall-- 7,a7 use metrics that are  
common among and useful for             
practitioners in the field of mental    
health care and suicide prevention2     
7,b7 identify the most effective mental 
health care and suicide prevention      
programs conducted by the ,secretary    
concerned2 and  7,c7 propose best       
practices for caring for individuals who

 suffer from mental health disorders or 
are at risk of suicide4  7#c7 ,third    
party ,each evaluation conducted under  
paragraph 7#a7 shall be conducted by an 
independent third party unaffiliated    
with the ,department of ,veterans       
,affairs and the ,department of         
,defense4  7b7 ,training of providers   
7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary        
concerned shall train all providers of  
health care under the laws administered 
by such ,secretary on the following3    
7,a7 ,recognizing if an individual is at
 risk of suicide4  7,b7 ,treating or    
referring for treatment an individual   
who is at risk of suicide4  7,c7        
,recognizing the symptoms of            
posttraumatic stress disorder4  7#b7    
,dissemination of best practices ,the   
,secretary concerned shall ensure that  
best practices for identifying          
individuals at risk of suicide and      
providing quality mental health care are
 disseminated to providers of health    
care under the laws administered by such

 ,secretary4  7c7 ,secretary concerned  
defined ,in this section1 the term      
,secretary concerned means-- 7#a7 the   
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs with   
respect to matters concerning the       
,department of ,veterans ,affairs2 and  
7#b7 the ,secretary of ,defense with    
respect to matters concerning the       
,department of ,defense4  #e4           
,collaboration between ,department of   
,veterans ,affairs and ,department of   
,defense on health care matters  7a7    
,timeline for implementing interoperable
 electronic health records  7#a7 ,in    
general ,section #afce of the ,wounded  
,warrior ,act 7#aj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajga note7
 is amended by adding at the end the    
following new subsection3  7k7 ,timeline
 ,in carrying out this section1 the     
,secretary of ,defense and the          
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  
ensure that--  7#a7 the creation of a   
health data authoritative source by the 
,department of ,defense and the         
,department of ,veterans ,affairs that  

can be accessed by multiple providers   
and standardizes the input of new       
medical information is achieved not     
later than #ahj days after the date of  
the enactment of this subsection2  7#b7 
the ability of patients of both the     
,department of ,defense and the         
,department of ,veterans ,affairs to    
download the medical records of the     
patient 7commonly referred to as the    
,blue ,button ,initiative7 is achieved  
not later than #ahj days after the date 
of the enactment of this subsection2    
7#c7 the full interoperability of       
personal health care information between
 the ,departments is achieved not later 
than one year after the date of the     
enactment of this subsection2  7#d7 the 
acceleration of the exchange of         
real-time data between the ,departments 
is achieved not later than one year     
after the date of the enactment of this 
subsection2  7#e7 the upgrade of the    
graphical user interface to display a   
joint common graphical user interface is

 achieved not later than one year after 
the date of the enactment of this       
subsection2 and  7#f7 each current      
member of the ,armed ,forces and the    
dependent of such a member may elect to 
receive an electronic copy of the health
 care record of the individual beginning
 not later than ,june #cj1 #bjae4  4    
7#b7 ,conforming amendments ,section    
#afce of such ,act is further amended-- 
7,a7 in subsection 7a71 by striking ,the
 ,secretary and inserting ,in accordance
 with the timeline described in         
subsection 7k71 the ,secretary2 and     
7,b7 in the matter preceding paragraph  
7#a7 of subsection 7e71 by inserting in 
accordance with subsection 7k7 after    
under this section4  7b7 ,establishment 
of uniform prescription formulary ,the  
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs and the
 ,secretary of ,defense shall jointly   
establish a uniform prescription        
formulary for use in prescribing        
medication under the laws administered  
by the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs 

and the laws administered by the        
,secretary of ,defense4  #f4 ,pilot     
program for repayment of educational    
loans for certain psychiatrists of      
,veterans ,health ,administration  7a7  
,establishment  ,the ,secretary of      
,veterans ,affairs shall carry out a    
pilot program to repay loans of         
individuals described in subsection 7b7 
that--  7#a7 were used by such          
individuals to finance education        
relating to psychiatric medicine1       
including education leading to-- 7,a7 an
 undergraduate degree2  7,b7 a degree of
 doctor of medicine2 or  7,c7 a degree  
of doctor of osteopathy2 and  7#b7 were 
obtained from any of the following3 7,a7
 ,a governmental entity4  7,b7 ,a       
private financial institution4  7,c7 ,a 
school4  7,d7 ,any other authorized     
entity as determined by the ,secretary4 
7b7  ,eligible individuals  7#a7 ,in    
general ,subject to paragraph 7#b71 an  
individual eligible for participation in
 the pilot program is an individual     

who--  7,a7 either--  7i7 is licensed or
 eligible for licensure to practice     
psychiatric medicine in the ,veterans   
,health ,administration of the          
,department of ,veterans ,affairs2 or   
7ii7 is enrolled in the final year of a 
residency program leading to a specialty
 qualification in psychiatric medicine  
that is approved by the ,accreditation  
,council for ,graduate ,medical         
,education2 and  7,b7 demonstrates a    
commitment to a long-term career as a   
psychiatrist in the ,veterans ,health   
,administration1 as determined by the   
,secretary4  7#b7 ,prohibition on       
simultaneous eligibility ,an individual 
who is participating in any other       
program of the ,federal ,government that
 repays the educational loans of the    
individual is not eligible to           
participate in the pilot program4  7c7  
,selection ,the ,secretary shall select 
not less than #aj individuals described 
in subsection 7b7 to participate in the 
pilot program for each year in which the

 ,secretary carries out the pilot       
program4  7d7 ,period of obligated      
service ,the ,secretary shall enter into
 an agreement with each individual      
selected under subsection 7c7 in which  
such individual agrees to serve a period
 of obligated service for the ,veterans 
,health ,administration in the field of 
psychiatric medicine1 as determined by  
the ,secretary4  7e7  ,loan ,repayments 
7#a7 ,amounts  ,subject to paragraph    
7#b71 a loan repayment under this       
section may consist of payment of the   
principal1 interest1 and related        
expenses of a loan obtained by an       
individual who is participating in the  
pilot program for all educational       
expenses 7including tuition1 fees1      
books1 and laboratory expenses7 of such 
individual relating to education        
described in subsection 7a77#a74  7#b7  
,limit  ,for each year of obligated     
service that an individual who is       
participating in the pilot program      
agrees to serve under subsection 7d71   

the ,secretary may pay not more than    
#fj1jjj in loan repayment on behalf of  
such individual4  7f7 ,breach  7#a7     
,liability ,an individual who           
participates in the pilot program and   
fails to satisfy the period of obligated
 service under subsection 7d7 shall be  
liable to the ,united ,states1 in lieu  
of such obligated service1 for the      
amount that has been paid or is payable 
to or on behalf of the individual under 
the pilot program1 reduced by the       
proportion that the number of days      
served for completion of the period of  
obligated service bears to the total    
number of days in the period of         
obligated service of such individual4   
7#b7 ,repayment period ,any amount of   
damages that the ,united ,states is     
entitled to recover under this          
subsection shall be paid to the ,united 
,states not later than one year after   
the date of the breach of the agreement4
  7g7 ,report  7#a7 ,in general ,not    
later than #ij days after the date on   

which the pilot program terminates under
 subsection 7i71 the ,secretary shall   
submit to the ,committee on ,veterans'  
,affairs of the ,senate and the         
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the
 ,house of ,representatives a report on 
the pilot program4  7#b7 ,elements ,the 
report required by paragraph 7#a7 shall 
include the following3 7,a7 ,the overall
 effect of the pilot program on the     
psychiatric workforce shortage of the   
,veterans ,health ,administration4  7,b7
 ,the long-term stability of the        
psychiatric workforce of the ,veterans  
,health ,administration4  7,c7          
,strategies of the ,veterans ,health    
,administration to improve and increase 
the ability of the ,administration to   
promote the physical and mental         
resiliency of all veterans4  7h7        
,regulations  ,the ,secretary shall     
prescribe regulations to carry out this 
section1 including standards for        
qualified loans and authorized payees   
and other terms and conditions for the  

making of loan repayments4  7i7         
,termination ,the authority to carry out
 the pilot program shall expire on the  
date that is three years after the date 
on which the ,secretary commences the   
pilot program4  #g4 ,comptroller        
,general study on pay disparities of    
psychiatrists of ,veterans ,health      
,administration  7a7 ,study  7#a7 ,in   
general ,not later than one year after  
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united
 ,states shall conduct a study of pay   
disparities among psychiatrists of the  
,veterans ,health ,administration of the
 ,department of ,veterans ,affairs4     
7#b7 ,elements ,the study required by   
paragraph 7#a7 shall include the        
following3  7,a7 ,an examination of     
laws1 regulations1 practices1 and       
policies1 including salary              
flexibilities1 that contribute to such  
disparities4  7,b7 ,recommendations for 
legislative or regulatory action to     
improve equity in pay among such        

psychiatrists4  7b7 ,report ,not later  
than one year after the date on which   
the ,comptroller ,general completes the 
study under subsection 7a71 the         
,comptroller ,general shall submit to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of
 the ,senate and the ,committee on      
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of    
,representatives a report containing the
 results of the study4