,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hjhd  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,august #ba1         
#bjbj,ms4 ,underwood 7for herself1 ,ms4 
,brownley of ,california1 and ,miss     
,rice of ,new ,york7 introduced the     
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of 
,veterans ,affairs to update the ,lethal
 ,means ,safety and ,suicide ,prevention
 training course of the ,department of  
,veterans ,affairs1 and for other       
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,lethal ,means      
,safety ,training ,act4  #b4 ,suicide   
risk management and prevention and      
lethal means training  7a7 ,in general  
7#a7 ,initial update ,not later than    
#ahj days after the date of the         
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
of ,veterans ,affairs1 in consultation  
with entities described in subsection   
7c71 shall update the ,lethal ,means    
,safety and ,suicide ,prevention        

training course of the ,department of   
,veterans ,affairs to ensure that it is 
culturally appropriate and uses best    
practices identified by appropriate     
subject matter experts4  7#b7           
,subsequent updates ,not less frequently
 than once each year1 the ,secretary    
shall update the training as            
appropriate1 taking into consideration  
best practices1 and publish a report on 
the internet website of the ,department 
that includes the percentage of         
individuals in each category described  
in paragraphs 7#b71 7#c71 and 7#d7 of   
subsection 7b7 who completed the        
training referred to in paragraph 7#a7  
during the year covered by the report4  
7b7 ,training  7#a7 ,in general ,the    
,secretary shall require each employee  
referred to in paragraph 7#b7 to take   
the most recently updated version of the
 training course referred to in         
subsection 7a7-- 7,a7 not later than #ij
 days after the date such person is     
initially hired by the ,department2 and 

7,b7 at least once every year           
thereafter4  7#b7 ,covered employee ,an 
employee described in this paragraph is 
any of the following3 7,a7 ,an employee 
of the ,veterans ,health ,administration
 or ,veterans ,benefits ,administration 
who regularly interacts with veterans in
 the course of performing the employee's
 responsibilities4  7,b7 ,a compensation
 and pension examiner1 including an     
employee of a contractor of the         
,department who performs compensation   
and pension examinations4  7,c7 ,an     
employee of a ,veterans ,center or      
vocational rehabilitation facility4     
7#c7 ,community care providers ,as a    
condition of furnishing care through a  
non-,department provider under section  
#agjc of title #ch1 ,united ,states     
,code1 the ,secretary shall require any 
employee of such provider who provides  
such care to take the most recently     
updated version of the training course  
referred to in subsection 7a7-- 7,a7 not
 later than #ij days after the date on  

which the ,secretary first agrees to    
furnish any such care through such      
provider2 and  7,b7 at least once every 
year thereafter4  7#d7 ,family          
caregivers ,as a condition of providing 
support to a family caregiver under     
section #agbj;,g of title #ch1 ,united  
,states ,code1 the ,secretary shall     
require the caregiver to take the most  
recently updated version of the training
 course referred to in subsection 7a7-- 
7,a7 not later than #ij days after the  
date on which the caregiver first       
receives support under such section2 and
  7,b7 at least once every year         
thereafter4  7c7 ,entities described    
,the entities described in the          
subsection are the following3 7#a7 ,the 
,secretary of ,health and ,human        
,services1 in consultation with the     
,directors of the ,national ,institute  
of ,mental ,health1 ,substance ,abuse   
and ,mental ,health ,services           
,administration1 and other appropriate  
,federal agencies4  7#b7 ,experts in the

 assessment1 treatment1 and management  
of individuals at risk for suicide4     
7#c7 ,professional associations that the
 ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs       
determines are appropriate4  7#d7       
,federal firearms license dealers and   
instructors4  7#e7 ,experts in lethal   
means safety counseling practice and    
education4  7#f7 ,the ,department of    
,veterans ,affairs ,mental ,illness     
,research1 ,education1 and ,clinical    
,centers4  7#g7 ,veterans service       
organizations4  7d7 ,public availability
 ,the ,secretary shall make the training
 course referred to in subsection 7a7   
publicly available on an internet       
website of the ,department4