,,ii #aafth ,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dijj ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,november #af1 #bjbj,mr4 ,brown 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,ms4 ,ernst1 and ,mr4 ,whitehouse7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to require a pilot program on activities under the ,transition ,assistance ,program for a reduction in suicide among veterans1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the,daniel ,j4 ,harvey ,jr4 and ,adam ,lambert ,improving ,servicemember ,transition to ,reduce ,veteran ,suicide ,act4 #b4 ,pilot program on activities under the ,transition ,assistance ,program for a reduction in suicide among veterans 7a7 ,pilot program required ,the ,secretary of ,defense and the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall jointly carry out a pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of providing the module described in subsection 7b7 and the services described in subsection 7c7 as part of the ,transition ,assistance ,program for members of the ,armed ,forces participating in the ,transition ,assistance ,program as a means of reducing the incidence of suicide among veterans4 7b7 ,module ,the module described in this subsection is a #c-;hour module under the ,transition ,assistance ,program for each member participating in the pilot program that includes the following3 7#a7 ,an in-person meeting between the member's cohort and a social worker in which the social worker-- 7,a7 counsels the cohort on specific potential risks confronting members after discharge or release from the ,armed ,forces1 including loss of community or a support system1 isolation from family1 friends1 or society1 identity crisis in the transition from military to civilian life1 vulnerability viewed as a weakness1 need for empathy1 self-medication and addiction1 importance of sleep and exercise1 homelessness1 and reasons why veterans attempt and complete suicide2 7,b7 counsels members of the cohort who have been diagnosed with physical1 psychological1 or neurological issues1 such as ,post-,traumatic ,stress ,disorder 7,,ptsd71 ,traumatic ,brain ,injury 7,,tbi71 ,adverse ,childhood ,experiences 7,,ace71 depression1 and bipolar disorder1 on-- 7i7 the potential risks for such members after discharge or release from such issues2 and 7ii7 the resources and treatment options afforded to members for such issues through the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 the ,department of ,defense1 and non-profit organizations2 7,c7 counsels the cohort about the resources afforded to victims of ,military ,sexual ,trauma 7,,mst7 through the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs2 and 7,d7 counsels the cohort about the five stages of grieving1 the manner in which members might experience grieving during the transition from military to civilian life1 and the resources afforded to them for grieving through the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs4 7#b7 ,the provision to each cohort member of contact information for a counseling or other appropriate facility of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs in the locality in which such member intends to reside after discharge or release4 7#c7 ,the submittal by cohort members to the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs 7including both the ,veterans ,health ,administration and the ,veterans ,benefits ,administration7 of member medical records in connection with service in the ,armed ,forces1 whether or not such members intends to file a claim with the ,department for benefits with respect to any service-connected disability4 7c7 ,services ,the services described in this subsection in connection with the ,transition ,assistance ,program for each member participating in the pilot program are the following3 7#a7 ,not later than #ij days after the discharge or release of the member1 a contact of the member by a social worker or behavioral health coordinator from the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs to schedule a follow-up appointment with a social worker or behavioral health provider at the facility applicable to the member under subsection 7b77#b71 which such appointment to occur not later than #ij days after such contact4 7#b7 ,during the appointment scheduled pursuant to paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7 an assessment of the member to determine the member's experiences with events during military service that could lead1 whether individually or cumulatively1 to physical1 psychological1 or neurological issues1 including issues described in subsection 7b77#a77;,b72 and 7,b7 the development of a medical treatment plan for the member1 including treatment for issues identified pursuant to the assessment under subparagraph 7,a74 7d7 ,locations ,the pilot program shall be carried out at not fewer than #aj ,transition ,assistance ,centers of the ,department of ,defense that serve at least #cjj members annually1 which centers shall be jointly selected by the ,secretary of ,defense and the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs for purposes of the pilot program4 ,the centers so selected shall1 to the extent practicable1 be centers that1 whether individually or in aggregate1 serve all the ,armed ,forces and both the regular and reserve components of the ,armed ,forces4 7e7 ,selection and commencement ,the ,secretary of ,defense and the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall jointly select the locations of the pilot program under subsection 7d71 and commence carrying out activities under the pilot program1 by not later than #abj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7f7 ,duration 7#a7 ,in general ,the duration of the pilot program shall be five years4 7#b7 ,continuation ,if the ,secretary of ,defense and the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs recommend in the report under subsection 7g7 that the pilot program be extended beyond the date otherwise provided by paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretaries may jointly continue the pilot program for such period beyond such date as the ,secretaries jointly consider appropriate4 7g7 ,reports 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and every #ahj days thereafter during the duration of the pilot program1 the ,secretary of ,defense and the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall jointly submit to ,congress a report on the activities under the pilot program4 7#b7 ,elements ,each report on the pilot program under this subsection shall include the following3 7,a7 ,a description of the members who participated in the pilot program during the #ahj-;day period ending on the date of such report1 broken out by the following3 7i7 ,sex4 7ii7 ,branch of the ,armed ,forces in which served4 7iii7 ,diagnosis of1 or other symptoms consistent with1 ,military ,sexual ,trauma 7,,mst71 ,post-,traumatic ,stress ,disorder 7,,ptsd71 ,traumatic ,brain ,injury 7,,tbi71 depression1 or bipolar disorder in connection with military service4 7,b7 ,a description of the activities under the pilot program during such period4 7,c7 ,an assessment of the benefits of the activities under the pilot program during such period to veterans and family members of veterans4 7,d7 ,an assessment whether the activities under the pilot program as of the date of such report have reduced the incidence of suicide among members who participated in the pilot program1 within one year of discharge or release from the ,armed ,forces4 7,e7 ,such recommendations as the ,secretary of ,defense and the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs jointly consider appropriate regarding expansion of the pilot program1 extension of the pilot program1 or both4 7h7 ,transition ,assistance ,program defined ,in this section1 the term ,transition ,assistance ,program means the program of assistance and other transitional services carried out pursuant to section #aadd of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code4