,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #ceha  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,march #be1    
#bjbj,ms4 ,cortez ,masto introduced the 
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,armed   
,services  ,a ,,bill  ,to require the   
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states to submit to ,congress a report 
assessing ,federal1 ,state1 and other   
mental health services available to     
members of the reserve components of the
 ,armed ,forces1 and for other purposes4
  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be    
cited as the ,examining ,mental ,health 
,services for the ,national ,guard and  
,reserves ,act of #bjbj4  #b4 ,findings2
 sense of ,congress  7a7 ,findings      
,congress finds the following3 7#a7     
,members of the ,national ,guard and    
,reserves face unique challenges in     
balancing stressors in their civilian   
life and civilian jobs with their       
military responsibilities1 including    
repeated deployments1 a lack of daily   

interaction with their leadership1 and  
the possibility of living and working   
far from the rest of their unit4  7#b7  
,according to the #bjah annual report on
 suicide in the military prepared by the
 ,department of ,defense1 the ,national 
,guard and ,reserves averaged #cj4f     
suicides and #bb4i suicides per #ajj1jjj
 members1 respectively1 compared to     
#bd4h suicides per #ajj1jjj members for 
active duty members of the ,armed       
,forces4  7b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is
 the sense of ,congress that it is in   
the national interest of the ,united    
,states to ensure that members of the   
,national ,guard and ,reserves receive  
high-quality mental health care and     
appropriate support to ensure their     
successful reintegration into civilian  
life following deployments4  #c4 ,report
 on military mental health programs for 
members of the reserve components of the
 ,armed ,forces  7a7 ,report ,not later 
than one year after the date of the     
enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller

 ,general of the ,united ,states shall  
submit to ,congress a report assessing  
the mental health and resiliency        
services available to members of the    
reserve components4  7b7 ,elements ,the 
report required by subsection 7a7 shall 
include the following3 7#a7 ,a          
description of all ,federal1 ,state1 and
 other programs providing mental health 
and resiliency services1 including      
suicide prevention and stress           
management1 to members of the reserve   
components1 including the costs and     
coverage of such programs4  7#b7 ,an    
analysis of any gaps or barriers to     
access1 including geographic1 financial1
 or social stigma barriers1 that exist  
and could result in delayed or          
insufficient mental health care and     
resiliency support for members of the   
reserve components4  7#c7 ,an evaluation
 of the annual mental health screening  
requirements for members of the reserve 
components and the mental health        
screening requirements before1 during1  

and after ,federal and ,state           
deployments1 including any              
recommendations to strengthen mental    
health counseling referrals and the     
reintegration of members of the reserve 
components4  7c7 ,reserve component     
defined ,in this section1 the term      
reserve component means a reserve       
component of the ,armed ,forces named in
 section #ajaja of title #aj1 ,united   
,states ,code4