,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #chfc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #aj1 #bjbe,ms4 
,budzinski 7for herself and ,mr4        
,edwards7 introduced the following bill2
 which was referred to the ,committee on
 ,veterans' ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to    
amend title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 
to direct the ,secretary of ,veterans   
,affairs to furnish annual mental health
 consultations to certain veterans1 and 
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,,va     
,mental ,health ,outreach and           
,engagement ,act4  #b4 ,mental health   
consultations and outreach to a veteran 
receiving compensation for a            
service-connected disability relating to
 a mental health diagnosis  7a7 ,annual 
consultation2 outreach ,the section     
#aafg of title #ch1 ,united ,states     
,code1 relating to mental health        
consultations is amended--  7#a7 in     
subsection 7a71 in the subsection       
heading1 by striking ,in general and    

inserting ,initial consultation2  7#b7  
by redesignating subsections 7b7 and 7c7
 as subsections 7c7 and 7d71            
respectively2  7#c7 by inserting after  
subsection 7a7 the following new        
subsection 7b73  7b7 ,annual            
consultation2 outreach ,not less        
frequently than once each year1 the     
,secretary shall1 with regards to a     
veteran who is receiving compensation   
under this chapter for a                
service-connected disability relating to
 a mental health diagnosis--  7#a7 offer
 a mental health consultation to assess 
the mental health needs of1 and discuss 
other mental health care options for1   
the veteran2 and  7#b7 conduct outreach 
regarding the availability of--  7,a7   
consultations under paragraph 7#a72 and 
7,b7 other mental health services       
furnished by the ,secretary4  2  7#d7 in
 subsection 7c71 as redesignated by     
paragraph 7#b71 by inserting or 7b7     
after under subsection 7a7 both places  
it appears2 and  7#e7 in subsection 7d71

 as redesignated by paragraph 7#b71 by  
inserting 1 or to require the           
reevaluation of any entitlement of the  
veteran to compensation under this      
chapter before the period at the end4   
7b7 ,technical corrections  7#a7        
,redesignation ,such section1 as        
amended1 is redesignated as section     
#aafi of such title4  7#b7 ,clerical    
amendments ,the table of sections at the
 beginning of chapter #aa of such title 
is amended--  7,a7 by striking the item 
relating to the section #aafg that      
relates to mental health consultations2 
and  7,b7 by inserting after the item   
relating to section #aafh the following 
new item3  #aafi4 ,mental health        
consultations4  4  7c7 ,,gao review ,not
 later than two years after the date of 
the enactment of this section1 the      
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states shall submit to the ,committees 
on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate   
and ,house of ,representatives a report 
on the effect of the amendments made by 

this section4 ,elements of such report  
shall include-- 7#a7 the number of      
veterans who received--  7,a7 mental    
health consultations under paragraph    
7#a7 of subsection 7b7 of section #aafi 
of such title2 and  7,b7 outreach under 
paragraph 7#b7 of such subsection2  7#b7
 whether veterans reported barriers to  
seeking such consultations2 and  7#c7   
such barriers1 if any4