,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #ciai  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #i1      
#bjbj,ms4 ,sinema 7for herself and ,mr4 
,cotton7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,armed ,services  ,a     
,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of    
,defense to carry out a pilot program to
 pre-program suicide prevention         
resources into smart devices issued to  
members of the ,armed ,forces4  #a4     
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,military ,suicide ,prevention in   
the #bast ,century ,act4  #b4 ,findings 
,congress finds the following3 7#a7     
,although personal electronic devices1  
such as mobile phones1 computers1 and   
tablets1 increasingly are being         
leveraged as vehicles for health in the 
civilian world1 almost nothing is known 
about personal technology use among     
members of the ,armed ,forces4  7#b7    
,the ,defense ,health ,agency created   
the ,virtual ,hope ,box application to  

help members of the ,armed ,forces build
 resilience4  7#c7 ,users of the        
,virtual ,hope ,box application reported
 significantly greater ability to cope  
with unpleasant emotions and thoughts4  
7#d7 ,members of the ,armed ,forces who 
are behavioral health patients          
experiencing distress1 emotional        
dysregulation1 or suicidal ideation are 
often separated from direct clinical    
support when they need it4  7#e7 ,the   
,virtual ,hope ,box application offers a
 highly portable1 accessible1 and       
discreet tool for effectively increasing
 coping self-efficacy4  7#f7 ,a strongly
 linked chain of care depends on engaged
 leaders as well as highly competent    
first responders1 crisis hotline        
workers1 emergency department personnel1
 chaplains1 primary care clinicians1 and
 behavioral health clinicians4  #c4     
,pilot program on pre-programming of    
suicide prevention resources into smart 
devices issued to members of the ,armed 
,forces  7a7 ,in general ,commencing not

 later than #abj days after the date of 
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary of ,defense shall carry out a
 pilot program under which the          
,secretary-- 7#a7 pre-downloads the     
,virtual ,hope ,box application of the  
,defense ,health ,agency1 or successor  
application1 on smart devices           
individually issued to members of the   
,armed ,forces2  7#b7 pre-programs the  
,national ,suicide ,hotline number and  
,veterans ,crisis ,line number into the 
contacts for such devices2 and  7#c7    
provides training1 as part of training  
on suicide awareness and prevention     
conducted throughout the ,department of 
,defense1 on the preventative resources 
described in paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b74  
7b7 ,duration ,the ,secretary shall     
carry out the pilot program under this  
section for a two-year period4  7c7     
,scope ,the ,secretary shall determine  
the appropriate scope of individuals    
participating in the pilot program under
 this section to best represent each    

,armed ,force and to ensure a relevant  
sample size4  7d7 ,identification of    
other resources ,in carrying out the    
pilot program under this section1 the   
,secretary shall coordinate with the    
,director of the ,defense ,health       
,agency and the ,secretary of ,veterans 
,affairs to identify other useful       
technology-related resources for use in 
the pilot program4  7e7 ,report ,not    
later than #cj days after completing the
 pilot program under this section1 the  
,secretary shall submit to the          
,committee on ,armed ,services of the   
,senate and the ,committee on ,armed    
,services of the ,house of              
,representatives a report on the pilot  
program4  7f7 ,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