,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dbij  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,september #aa1      
#bjai,ms4 ,jackson ,lee 7for herself1   
,mr4 ,fitzpatrick1 ,ms4 ,brownley of    
,california1 ,mr4 ,brown of ,maryland1  
and ,mr4 ,banks7 introduced the         
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of 
,veterans ,affairs to designate a week  
as ,battle ,buddy ,check ,week for the  
purpose of outreach and education       
concerning peer wellness checks for     
veterans1 and for other purposes4  #a4  
,findings2 sense of ,congress  7a7      
,findings ,congress makes the following 
findings3 7#a7 ,the ,department of      
,veterans ,affairs is the ,federal      
agency charged with managing benefits   
and health care for the ,nation's       
veterans4  7#b7 ,in recent years1 the   
,department of ,veterans ,affairs made  
the prevention of veteran suicide among 
the highest priorities of the           

,department and has developed data      
models to continually improve and tailor
 suicide prevention strategies and      
initiatives4  7#c7 ,among the recent    
suicide prevention initiatives are--    
7,a7 an expanded ,veterans ,crisis ,line
 to three call centers2  7,b7 launching 
the ,s4,a4,v4,e4 suicide prevention     
training video2  7,c7 implementing the  
,mayor's ,challenge1 which engages local
 elected officials in veteran suicide   
prevention2 and  7,d7 partnering with   
the ,department of ,defense and the     
,department of ,homeland ,security to   
support veterans during their transition
 from military to civilian life4  7b7   
,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of 
,congress that the ,department of       
,veterans ,affairs should-- 7#a7 remain 
focused on screening transitioning      
members of the ,armed ,forces for       
factors associated with suicide and     
providing treatment and other services  
needed to reduce suicides2  7#b7        
undertake suicide prevention through a  

multi-pronged strategy that addresses   
the many factors that are known to      
contribute to suicide2  7#c7 continue to
 regard suicide prevention as one of the
 highest priorities of the ,department2 
and  7#d7 provide guidance to other     
agencies and veteran service            
organizations on the factors that are   
associated with suicide4  #b4           
,designation of ,battle ,buddy ,check   
,week by ,department of ,veterans       
,affairs  7a7 ,in general ,the          
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  
designate one week per year to organize 
outreach events and educate veterans on 
how to conduct peer wellness checks1    
which shall be known as ,battle ,buddy  
,check ,week4  7b7 ,events and education
  7#a7 ,in general ,during ,battle      
,buddy ,check ,week1 the ,secretary1 in 
consultation with organizations that    
represent veterans1 non-profits that    
serve veterans1 mental health experts1  
members of the ,armed ,forces1 and such 
other entities and individuals as the   

,secretary considers appropriate1 shall 
collaborate with organizations that     
represent veterans to provide           
educational opportunities for veterans  
to learn how to conduct peer wellness   
checks4  7#b7 ,training matters ,as part
 of the educational opportunities       
provided under paragraph 7#a71 the      
,secretary shall provide the following3 
7,a7 ,a script for veterans to use to   
conduct peer wellness checks that       
includes information on appropriate     
referrals to resources veterans might   
need4  7,b7 ,online and in-person       
training1 as appropriate1 on how to     
conduct a peer wellness check4  7,c7    
,opportunities for members of           
organizations that represent veterans to
 learn how to train individuals to      
conduct peer wellness checks4  7,d7     
,training for veterans participating in 
,battle ,buddy ,check ,week on how to   
transfer a phone call directly to the   
,veterans ,crisis ,line4  7,e7          
,resiliency training for veterans       

participating in ,battle ,buddy ,check  
,week on handling a veteran in crisis4  
7#c7 ,online materials ,all training    
materials provided under the educational
 opportunities under paragraph 7#a7     
shall be made available on a website of 
the ,department4  7c7 ,outreach ,the    
,secretary1 in collaboration with       
organizations that represent veterans1  
may conduct outreach regarding          
educational opportunities under         
subsection 7b7 at--  7#a7 public events 
where many veterans are expected to     
congregate2  7#b7 meetings of           
organizations that represent veterans2  
7#c7 facilities of the ,department of   
,veterans ,affairs2 and  7#d7 such other
 locations as the ,secretary1 in        
collaboration with organizations that   
represent veterans1 considers           
appropriate4  7d7 ,veterans ,crisis     
,line plan  7#a7 ,in general ,the       
,secretary shall ensure that the        
,veterans ,crisis ,line has a plan for  
handling the potential increase of calls

 that may occur during ,battle ,buddy   
,check ,week4  7#b7 ,submittal of plan  
,the head of the ,veterans ,crisis ,line
 shall submit to the ,secretary a plan  
for how to handle excess calls during   
,battle ,buddy ,check ,week1 which may  
include the following3  7,a7 ,additional
 hours for staff4  7,b7 ,the use of a   
backup call center4  7,c7 ,any other    
plan to ensure that calls from veterans 
in crisis are being answered in a timely
 manner by an individual trained at the 
same level as a ,veterans ,crisis ,line 
responder4  7e7 ,veterans ,crisis ,line 
defined ,in this section1 the term      
,veterans ,crisis ,line means the       
toll-free hotline for veterans          
established under section #agbj;,f7h7 of
 title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4