,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #caie  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,january #ae1  
#bjbj,mr4 ,cassidy 7for himself and ,mr4
 ,tester7 introduced the following bill2
 which was read twice and referred to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to require the ,secretary of
 ,defense and the ,secretary of         
,veterans ,affairs to review the records
 of former members of the ,armed ,forces
 who die by suicide within one year of  
separation from the ,armed ,forces and  
to require the ,secretary of ,veterans  
,affairs to submit a report on the      
,,reach ,,vet program4  #a4 ,short title
 ,this ,act may be cited as the         
,promoting ,coordination for ,veteran   
,suicide ,prevention ,act of #bjbj4  #b4
 ,review of records of former members of
 the ,armed ,forces who die by suicide  
within one year of separation from the  
,armed ,forces  7a7 ,in general ,the    
,secretary of ,defense and the          
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  

jointly review the records of each      
former member of the ,armed ,forces who 
died by suicide within one year of      
separation from the ,armed ,forces      
during the five-year period preceding   
the date of the enactment of this ,act4 
7b7 ,elements ,the review required by   
subsection 7a7 with respect to a former 
member of the ,armed ,forces shall      
include consideration of the following3 
7#a7 ,if the ,department of ,defense had
 previously identified the former member
 as being at risk for suicide and if    
that identification had been            
communicated to the ,department of      
,veterans ,affairs4  7#b7 ,what risk    
factors were present with respect to the
 former member and how those risk       
factors correlated to the circumstances 
of the death of the former member4  7#c7
 ,if the former member was eligible to  
receive health care services from the   
,department of ,veterans ,affairs4  7#d7
 ,if the former member received health  
care services1 including mental health  

care services1 from a facility of the   
,department of ,veterans ,affairs1      
including readjustment counseling       
services1 following separation from the 
,armed ,forces4  7#e7 ,if the former    
member had received a mental health     
waiver during service in the ,armed     
,forces4  7#f7 ,the employment status1  
housing status1 marital status1 age1    
rank within the ,armed ,forces 7such as 
enlisted or officer71 and branch of     
service within the ,armed ,forces of the
 former member4  7#g7 ,if support       
services1 specified by the type of      
service 7such as employment1 mental     
health1 etc471 were provided to the     
former member during their period of    
separation from the ,armed ,forces1     
disaggregated by--  7,a7 services       
furnished by the ,department of         
,defense1 including through contracts2  
7,b7 services furnished by the          
,department of ,veterans ,affairs1      
including through contracts2 and  7,c7  
services not covered under subparagraph 

7,a7 or 7,b74  7c7 ,report  7#a7 ,in    
general ,not later than one year after  
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,secretary of ,defense and the      
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  
jointly submit to the appropriate       
committees of ,congress an aggregated   
report on the results of the review     
conducted under subsection 7a74  7#b7   
,appropriate committees of ,congress    
defined ,in this subsection1 the term   
appropriate committees of ,congress     
means-- 7,a7 ,the ,committee on ,armed  
,services and the ,committee on         
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate2 and 
7,b7 ,the ,committee on ,armed ,services
 and the ,committee on ,veterans'       
,affairs of the ,house of               
,representatives4  #c4 ,report on       
,,reach ,,vet program of ,department of 
,veterans ,affairs  7a7 ,in general ,not
 later than #ahj days after the date of 
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  
submit to ,congress a report on the     

,,reach ,,vet program4  7b7 ,elements   
,the report required by subsection 7a7  
shall include the following3 7#a7 ,an   
assessment of the impact of the ,,reach 
,,vet program on rates of suicide among 
veterans4  7#b7 ,an assessment of how   
limits within the ,,reach ,,vet program1
 such as caps on the number of veterans 
who may be flagged as high risk1 are    
adjusted for differing rates of suicide 
across the country4  7#c7 ,a detailed   
explanation1 with evidence1 for why the 
conditions included in the model used by
 the ,,reach ,,vet program were chosen1 
including an explanation as to why      
certain conditions1 such as bipolar     
disorder ,,ii1 were not included even   
though they show a similar rate of risk 
for suicide as other conditions that    
were included4  7#d7 ,an assessment of  
the feasibility of incorporating certain
 economic data held by the ,veterans    
,benefits ,administration into the model
 used by the ,,reach ,,vet program1     
including financial data and employment 

status1 which research indicates may    
have an impact on risk for suicide4  7c7
 ,,reach ,,vet program defined ,in this 
section1 the term ,,reach ,,vet program 
means the ,recovery ,engagement and     
,coordination for ,health--,veterans    
,enhanced ,treatment program of the     
,department of ,veterans ,affairs4