,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #acb  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,january #cj1       
#bjbc,mr4 ,brown 7for himself 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 pre-separation 
transition process of members of the    
,armed ,forces 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 ,act 4  #b4 ,pilot    
program on activities under the         
pre-separation transition process of    
members of the ,armed ,forces 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 services under       
subsection 7c7 as part of the           
pre-separation transition process for   
members of the ,armed ,forces as a means
 of reducing the incidence of suicide   
among veterans4  7b7 ,module  7#a7 ,in  
general ,the module described in this   
subsection shall include the following3 
7,a7 ,an in-person meeting between a    
cohort of members of the ,armed ,forces 
participating in the pilot program and a
 social worker or nurse in which the    
social worker or nurse-- 7i7 educates   
the cohort on resources for and specific
 potential risks confronting such       
members after discharge or release from 
the ,armed ,forces1 including-- 7,i7    
loss of community or a support system2  
7,,ii7 isolation from family1 friends1  
or society2  7,,iii7 identity crisis in 
the transition from military to civilian
 life2  7,,iv7 vulnerability viewed as a
 weakness2  7,v7 need for empathy2      

7,,vi7 self-medication and addiction2   
7,,vii7 importance of sleep and         
exercise2  7,,viii7 homelessness2       
7,,ix7 risk factors contributing to     
attempts of suicide and deaths by       
suicide2 and  7,x7 safe storage of      
firearms as part of suicide prevention  
lethal means safety efforts2  7ii7      
educates the cohort on-- 7,i7 the signs 
and symptoms of suicide risk and        
physical1 psychological1 or neurological
 issues1 such as post-traumatic stress  
disorder1 traumatic brain injury1       
chronic pain1 sleep disorders1 substance
 use disorders1 adverse childhood       
experiences1 depression1 bipolar        
disorder1 and socio-ecological concerns1
 such as homelessness1 unemployment1 and
 relationship strain2  7,,ii7 the       
potential risks for members of the      
,armed ,forces from such issues after   
discharge or release from the ,armed    
,forces2 and  7,,iii7 the resources and 
treatment options available to such     
members for such issues through the     

,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 the  
,department of ,defense1 and non-profit 
organizations2  7iii7 educates the      
cohort about the resources available to 
victims of military sexual trauma       
through the ,department of ,veterans    
,affairs2 and  7iv7 educates the cohort 
about the manner in which members might 
experience challenges during the        
transition from military to civilian    
life1 and the resources available to    
them through the ,department of         
,veterans ,affairs1 the ,department of  
,defense1 and other organizations4  7,b7
 ,the provision to each member of the   
cohort 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    
each member of the cohort to the        
,department of ,veterans ,affairs       
7including both the ,veterans ,health   
,administration and the ,veterans       

,benefits ,administration7 of their     
medical records in connection with      
service in the ,armed ,forces1 whether  
or not such members intend to file a    
claim with the ,department for benefits 
with respect to any service-connected   
disability4  7#b7 ,composition of cohort
 ,each cohort participating in the      
module described in this subsection     
shall be comprised of not fewer than #ej
 individuals4  7c7 ,services ,in        
carrying out the pilot program1 the     
,secretary of ,defense and the          
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  
provide to each individual participating
 in the pilot program the following     
services3 7#a7 ,during the transition   
process and prior to discharge or       
release from the ,armed ,forces1 a      
one-on-one meeting with a social worker 
or nurse of the ,department of ,veterans
 ,affairs who will-- 7,a7 conduct an    
assessment of the individual regarding  
eligibility to receive health care or   
counseling services from the ,department

 of ,veterans ,affairs2  7,b7 for those 
eligible1 or likely to be eligible1 to  
receive health care or counseling       
services from the ,department of        
,veterans ,affairs-- 7i7 identify and   
provide contact information for an      
appropriate facility of the ,department 
of ,veterans ,affairs in the locality in
 which such individual intends to reside
 after discharge or release2  7ii7      
facilitate registration or enrollment in
 the system of patient enrollment of the
 ,department of ,veterans ,affairs under
 section #agje7;a7 of title #ch1 ,united
 ,states ,code1 if applicable2  7iii7   
educate the individual about care1      
benefits1 and services available to the 
individual through the ,veterans ,health
 ,administration2 and  7iv7 coordinate  
health care based on the health care    
needs of the individual1 if applicable1 
to include establishing an initial      
appointment1 at the election of the     
individual1 to occur not later than #ij 
days after the date of discharge or     

release of the member from the ,armed   
,forces4  7#b7 ,for each individual     
determined ineligible for care and      
services from the ,department of        
,veterans ,affairs during the transition
 process1 the ,secretary of ,defense    
shall conduct an assessment of the      
individual to determine the needs of the
 individual and appropriate follow-up1  
which shall be identified and documented
 in the appropriate records of the      
,department of ,defense4  7#c7 ,during  
the appointment scheduled pursuant to   
paragraph 7#a77;,b77iv71 the ,secretary 
of ,veterans ,affairs shall conduct an  
assessment of the individual to         
determine the needs of the individual   
and appropriate follow-up1 which shall  
be identified and documented in the     
appropriate records of the ,department  
of ,veterans ,affairs4  7d7 ,locations  
7#a7 ,module and meeting ,the module    
under subsection 7b7 and the one-on-one 
meeting under subsection 7c77#a7 shall  
be carried out at not fewer than #aj    

locations of the ,department of ,defense
 that serve not fewer than #cjj members 
of the ,armed ,forces annually that are 
jointly selected by the ,secretary of   
,defense and the ,secretary of ,veterans
 ,affairs for purposes of the pilot     
program4  7#b7 ,assessment and          
appointment ,the assessment under       
subsection 7c77#b7 and the appointment  
under subsection 7c77#c7 may occur at   
any location determined appropriate by  
the ,secretary of ,defense or the       
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs1 as the
 case may be4  7#c7 ,members served ,the
 locations selected under paragraph 7#a7
 shall1 to the extent practicable1 be   
locations 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 7d77#a7  

and commence carrying out activities    
under the pilot program by not later    
than ,september #cj1 #bjbd4  7f7        
,duration ,the duration of the pilot    
program shall be five years4  7g7       
,reports  7#a7 ,in general ,not later   
than one year after the commencement of 
the pilot program1 and annually         
thereafter during the duration of the   
pilot program1 the ,secretary of        
,defense and the ,secretary of ,veterans
 ,affairs shall jointly submit to the   
appropriate committees of ,congress a   
report on the activities under the pilot
 program4  7#b7 ,elements ,each report  
required by paragraph 7#a7 shall include
 the following3 7,a7 ,the demographic   
information of the members and former   
members of the ,armed ,forces who       
participated in the pilot program during
 the one-year period ending on the date 
of such report4  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
 members and former members of the      
,armed ,forces4  7,d7 ,an assessment of 
whether the activities under the pilot  
program as of the date of such report   
have met the targeted outcomes of the   
pilot program among members and former  
members who participated in the pilot   
program 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 the feasibility   
and advisability of expansion of the    
pilot program1 extension of the pilot   
program1 or both4  7h7 ,appropriate     
committees of congress defined ,in this 
section1 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