,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #bida  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,may #bc1 #bjai,ms4  
,houlahan 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,cisneros1 
and ,ms4 ,stefanik7 introduced the      
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs1  
and in addition to the ,committee on    
,armed ,services1 for a period to be    
subsequently determined by the ,speaker1
 in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the           
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of 
,defense and the ,secretaries of the    
military departments to encourage female
 members who separate or retire from the
 ,armed ,forces during fiscal year #bjbj
 to participate in the ,women's ,health 
,transition ,training pilot program of  
the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs1  
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,servicewomen's ,health ,transition     
,training ,act of #bjai4  #b4 ,findings2

 sense of ,congress  7a7 ,findings      
,congress finds the following3  7#a7    
,women are now the fastest growing      
cohort of veterans and are expected to  
double in population by #bjde4  7#b7    
,women comprise approximately #b1jjj1jjj
 veterans in the ,united ,states and #aj
 percent of the total veteran           
population4  7#c7 ,women veterans are   
nearly two times more likely to commit  
suicide than civilian women4  7#d7 ,on  
average1 women do not connect with the  
,veterans ,health ,administration until 
#b4g years after separating from        
military service4  7#e7 ,female veterans
 have a higher rate of homelessness than
 their male counterparts4  7#f7 ,one in 
five female members of the ,armed       
,forces report experiencing military    
sexual trauma4  7b7 ,statement of policy
 objectives ,it is in the national      
interest of the ,united ,states to      
ensure female veterans receive a high   
quality of care by promoting programs   
and initiatives that--  7#a7 educate    

women separating from active duty in the
 ,armed ,forces of the services         
available to them through the           
,department of ,veterans ,affairs2  7#b7
 encourage women to enroll in the system
 of enrollment of the ,veterans ,health 
,administration2 and  7#c7 increase the 
number of women receiving health care   
from the ,veterans ,health              
,administration4  7c7 ,sense of         
,congress ,it is the sense of the       
,congress that the ,department of       
,veterans ,affairs1 in piloting the     
,women's ,health ,transition ,assistance
 ,program1 has found that the pilot     
program has--  7#a7 educated hundreds of
 women1 #ii percent of whom would       
recommend the program to others1 in the 
process of separating or retiring from  
the ,armed ,forces1 of the care they can
 receive from the ,department of        
,veterans ,affairs2  7#b7 improved      
awareness among pilot program           
participants of services available from 
the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs by

 #ef percent2 and  7#c7 increased pilot 
program participants' intent to enroll  
with the ,department of ,veterans       
,affairs by #ac4a percent1 increased    
pilot program participants' intent to   
use ,veteran ,affairs health care       
services by #ae4f percent1 and increased
 pilot program participants' intent to  
use ,veterans ,affairs suicide          
prevention services1 if needed1 by #ai4c
 percent4  #c4 ,participation in the    
women's health transition training pilot
 program of the ,department of ,veterans
 ,affairs  7a7 ,in general ,the         
,secretary of ,defense shall direct--   
7#a7 the ,secretaries of the military   
departments to encourage female members 
who separate or retire from the ,armed  
,forces during fiscal year #bjbj to     
participate in the ,women's ,health     
,transition ,training pilot program of  
the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs at
 locations selected by the ,secretaries 
of the military departments2 and  7#b7  
commanders of military installations    

that have centers for the ,transition   
,assistance ,program under sections     
#aadb and #aadd of title #aj1 ,united   
,states ,code1 to advertise the ,women's
 ,health ,transition ,training pilot    
program to female members described in  
paragraph 7#a74  7b7 ,report ,not later 
than ,february #a1 #bjba1 the ,secretary
 of ,defense1 in consultation with the  
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs1 shall 
submit to ,congress a report regarding  
participation described in subsection   
7a74 ,the report shall include the      
following3  7#a7 ,the number of         
participants in the pilot program4  7#b7
 ,the number of pilot program sessions  
and the locations at which the sessions 
were held4  7#c7 ,available metrics     
including course satisfaction and       
improved awareness of health services   
furnished by the ,secretary of ,veterans
 ,affairs4  7#d7 ,barriers to expanding 
the pilot program to reach more female  
members of the ,armed ,forces4  7#e7    
,barriers to offering the pilot program 

online to reach female members of the   
,armed ,forces who cannot attend in     
person4  7#f7 ,recommendations for      
legislation to improve or expand the    
pilot program4