,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #eihf  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,may #bi1 #bjah,mr4  
,taylor 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,ryan of     
,ohio1 ,mrs4 ,comstock1 ,ms4 ,sinema1   
,mr4 ,gallego1 ,mr4 ,banks of ,indiana1 
and ,mr4 ,bilirakis7 introduced the     
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of 
,veterans ,affairs to conduct a pilot   
program on posttraumatic growth1 and for
 other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this
 ,act may be cited as the ,bill ,mulder 
and ,ryan ,larkin ,posttraumatic ,growth
 ,act4  #b4 ,findings ,congress finds   
the following3  7#a7 ,there is a        
shortage of adequate1 timely1 and       
effective mental health care available  
to veterans across the ,united ,states4 
7#b7 ,the ,department of ,veterans      
,affairs continues to highlight veterans
 mental health care and suicide         
prevention as a key priority4  7#c7     
,there is an opportunity to explore     

effective alternative treatments focused
 on the area of posttraumatic growth4   
#c4 ,pilot program on posttraumatic     
growth  7a7 ,program ,the ,secretary of 
,veterans ,affairs shall conduct a pilot
 program to study the effectiveness and 
benefits of nonprofit posttraumatic     
growth programs to determine--  7#a7 the
 outcomes of such programs in contrast  
to traditional models of mental health  
care2  7#b7 the possible integration of 
such nonprofit programs into the mental 
health care programs provided by the    
,secretary2 and  7#c7 the budgetary     
impacts of such integration4  7b7       
,duration ,the ,secretary shall carry   
out the pilot program under subsection  
7a7 for a two-year period4  7c7         
,locations ,the ,secretary shall select 
more than one location at which to carry
 out the pilot program under subsection 
7a71 of which at least one location     
shall include a rural area4  7d7        
,participants  7#a7 ,groups ,for each   
location selected under subsection 7c71 

the ,secretary shall establish one or   
more groups consisting of not more than 
six veterans to participate in the pilot
 program under subsection 7a74 ,the     
,secretary shall establish a total of   
#bd groups4  7#b7 ,eligibility ,a       
veteran is eligible to participate in a 
group under paragraph 7#a7 if the       
,secretary determines that the veteran  
is--  7,a7 at risk of committing        
suicide2 and  7,b7 not participating in 
traditional mental health treatment4    
7#c7 ,female veterans ,not fewer than   
four groups of veterans under paragraph 
7#a7 shall consist only of female       
veterans4  7e7 ,nonprofit organizations 
,the ,secretary shall carry out the     
pilot program under subsection 7a7 by   
entering into an agreement with one or  
more nonprofit organizations that--     
7#a7 have staff with expertise in       
evidence-based care and experience      
working with veterans2  7#b7 have       
experience in the science of            
posttraumatic growth2 and  7#c7 uses a  

standardized1 evaluated1 and            
comprehensive curriculum4  7f7 ,report  
,not later than one year after the date 
on which the pilot program under        
subsection 7a7 is completed1 the        
,secretary shall submit to ,congress a  
report on the pilot program1 including a
 comparison of the care provided under  
the pilot program and the clinical care 
model of the ,department4