,,ii #aahth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ibh ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #bb1 #bjbc,mr4 ,tester 7for himself and ,mr4 ,boozman7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to prepare an annual report on suicide prevention1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,not ,just a ,number ,act4 #b4 ,national ,veteran ,suicide ,prevention ,annual ,report 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ah months after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and not later than ,september #cj of each year thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress and publish on a publicly available website of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs a report to be known as the ,national ,veteran ,suicide ,prevention ,annual ,report4 7b7 ,extension 7#a7 ,in general ,if the ,secretary requires an extension of the deadline for a report under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress a written request for such an extension4 7#b7 ,elements ,each written request under paragraph 7#a7 for an extension for a report shall include the following3 7,a7 ,the rationale for the delay in submitting the report4 7,b7 ,an explanation of the need for an extension4 7,c7 ,a proposed amended date for the submittal and publication of the report4 7c7 ,briefing ,before submitting a report under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall brief the appropriate committees of ,congress on the report4 7d7 ,elements of report 7#a7 ,in general ,each report under subsection 7a7 shall include the findings of the national analysis of veteran suicide rates for the latest year data is available and shall include trends and comparisons to previous years4 7#b7 ,additional elements ,each report under subsection 7a7 shall include1 for the year covered by the report1 the following3 7,a7 ,suicide rates of veterans disaggregated by age1 gender1 and race or ethnicity4 7,b7 ,trends in suicide rates of veterans compared to engagement of those veterans with health care from the ,veterans ,health ,administration1 including an examination of trends in suicide rates or deaths among-- 7i7 veterans who have recently received health care from the ,veterans ,health ,administration as compared to veterans who have never received health care from the ,veterans ,health ,administration2 7ii7 veterans who are enrolled in the patient enrollment system of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs under section #agje7;a7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 as compared to veterans who have never enrolled in such system2 7iii7 veterans who have recently used services from a ,vet ,center as compared to veterans who have never used such services2 7iv7 veterans who have a diagnosis of substance use disorder2 and 7v7 other groups of veterans relating to engagement with health care from the ,veterans ,health ,administration1 as the ,secretary considers practicable4 7,c7 ,trends in suicide rates of veterans compared to engagement of those veterans with benefits from the ,veterans ,benefits ,administration1 including an examination of trends in suicide rates or deaths among-- 7i7 veterans who are currently using1 have previously used1 or have never used educational assistance under the laws administered by the ,secretary2 7ii7 veterans who are currently receiving1 have previously received1 or have never received services or assistance under chapter #ca of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code2 7iii7 with respect to compensation under chapter #aa of such title-- 7,i7 veterans who were recipients of such compensation as compared to veterans who never applied for such compensation prior to death2 7,,ii7 veterans who had a claim denied for such compensation prior to death2 7,,iii7 veterans who had a pending claim for such compensation at time of death2 and 7,,iv7 veterans who had an entitlement for such compensation reduced prior to death2 7iv7 veterans who are currently receiving or have never received pension under chapter #ae of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code2 7v7 veterans who are currently using1 have previously used1 or have never used programs or services provided by the ,homeless ,programs ,office of the ,department1 including an examination of trends in suicide rates or deaths among veterans who made contact with such office but were denied or deemed ineligible for any such program or service2 7vi7 with respect to housing loans guaranteed by the ,secretary under chapter #cg of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code-- 7,i7 veterans who applied for such a loan1 whether their application was accepted or not2 7,,ii7 veterans who are current recipients of1 were previously recipients of1 or have never received such a loan2 and 7,,iii7 veterans who were turned down for such a loan by a lender2 7vii7 with respect to financial hardships-- 7,i7 veterans facing health care debts2 7,,ii7 veterans owing debts to the ,department2 7,,iii7 veterans owing debts to for-profit businesses assisting veterans with claims for benefits under the laws administered by the ,secretary2 and 7,,iv7 veterans facing foreclosure or bankruptcy2 7viii7 veterans who were involved in a veterans treatment court program1 whether they graduated successfully or not2 and 7ix7 veterans who were successfully contacted1 unsuccessfully contacted1 or never contacted by the ,department through the ,solid ,start program under section #fcbj of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#c7 ,strategy and recommendations 7,a7 ,initial report ,the initial report under subsection 7a7 shall include a strategy and recommendations developed by the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs1 in collaboration with the ,director of the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention and the ,secretary of ,defense1 for-- 7i7 improving data collection at the ,state and local levels to accurately capture suicide deaths of veterans2 7ii7 improving the timeliness1 efficacy1 and standardization of data reporting on suicide deaths of veterans at the ,federal level1 including by the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention1 the ,department of ,defense1 and the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs2 7iii7 improving the timeliness of identification and analysis of suicide deaths of veterans by ,federal agencies1 including the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention1 the ,department of ,defense1 and the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs2 and 7iv7 any other necessary process improvements for improving the timeliness1 efficacy1 and standardization of reporting of data relating to suicide deaths of veterans1 particularly with respect to the annual report under this section4 7,b7 ,subsequent reports ,each report after the initial report under subsection 7a7 shall include updates on actions taken to meet the strategy and recommendations developed under subparagraph 7,a74 7e7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,appropriate committees of ,congress ,the term appropriate committees of ,congress means the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,vet center ,the term ,vet ,center means a center for readjustment counseling and related mental health services for veterans under section #agab;,a of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4 #c4 ,report on additional benefits and services from ,department of ,veterans ,affairs to prevent veteran suicide 7a7 ,in general ,not later than three years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall submit to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives and publish on a publicly available website of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs a report that analyzes which benefits and services from the ,department1 including the ,veterans ,benefits ,administration1 have the greatest impact on prevention of suicide among veterans1 including recommendations for potential expansion of services and benefits to reduce the number of veteran suicides4 7b7 ,assessment of ,solid ,start program ,the report required by subsection 7a7 shall include an analysis of the effectiveness of the ,solid ,start program under section #fcbj of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 on prevention of suicide among veterans4 #d4 ,toolkit for ,state and local coroners and medical examiners on best practices for identifying and reporting on suicide deaths of veterans 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs1 in collaboration with the ,director of the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention1 shall develop a toolkit for ,state and local coroners and medical examiners that contains best practices for-- 7#a7 accurately identifying and reporting suicide deaths of veterans1 including how to identify veteran status2 and 7#b7 reporting such deaths to the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention and other applicable entities4 7b7 ,availability ,not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall make the toolkit developed under subsection 7a7 available on a publicly available website of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs4 7c7 ,outreach ,the ,secretary1 in collaboration with the ,director of the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention1 shall conduct outreach to appropriate ,state and local agencies to promote the availability and use of the toolkit developed under subsection 7a74 #e4 ,study on feasibility and advisability of creating a suicide prevention office of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs 7a7 ,in general ,after the submittal by the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives of the management review required under section #djc of the ,commander ,john ,scott ,hannon ,veterans ,mental ,health ,care ,improvement ,act of #bjai 7,public ,law #aaf-aga2 #acd ,stat4 #haj71 which required a management review of the mental health and suicide prevention services provided by the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall-- 7#a7 review the findings and recommendations of the management review2 and 7#b7 conduct a study on the feasibility and advisability of creating a suicide prevention office of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs at the level of the ,office of the ,secretary that would elevate suicide prevention as a top priority across the entire ,department1 including with respect to the work and programs of the ,veterans ,benefits ,administration and under partnerships with other entities1 including other ,federal agencies and non-governmental partners4 7b7 ,report to ,congress 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than two years after the submittal by the ,comptroller ,general of the management review described in subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives a report summarizing-- 7,a7 any actions planned or taken1 including reorganizations or changes to reporting or governance structures1 in response to the management review1 including any completion dates or targeted completion dates for any such actions2 and 7,b7 the results of the study required under subsection 7a77#b71 which shall include an examination of the considerations for creating a suicide prevention office of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs at the level of the ,office of the ,secretary1 including-- 7i7 benefits and potential drawbacks2 7ii7 projected costs and staffing needs1 including new full-time equivalent employees and transferred full-time equivalent employees2 and 7iii7 suggested organizational and leadership structure and principal activities and functions of the suicide prevention office4 7#b7 ,recommendations regarding organization and leadership structure ,in providing suggestions for organizational and leadership structure under the report under paragraph 7#a77;,b77iii71 the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 assess whether the suicide prevention office of the ,department should be led by a political appointee1 a career employee in a ,senior ,executive ,service position 7as defined in section #cacb of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code7 or equivalent1 or another position type2 and 7,b7 detail which functions would remain in the current ,office of ,mental ,health and ,suicide ,prevention of the ,veterans ,health ,administration1 including an assessment of where management of the ,veterans ,crisis ,line under section #agbj;,f7h7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 should reside4