,,ib ,union ,calendar ,no4 #eej #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #chfc ,report ,no4 #aai-fcd ,,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 ,may #d1 #bjbf;,additional sponsors3 ,mr4 ,fitzpatrick1 ,mr4 ,cohen1 and ,ms4 ,goodlander ,may #d1 #bjbf,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed,strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic,for text of introduced bill1 see copy of bill as introduced on ,june #aj1 #bjbe ,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 7d7 and 7e71 respectively2 7#c7 by inserting after subsection 7a7 the following new subsections3 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 7unless a veteran elects not to receive such outreach7-- 7,a7 regarding the availability of consultations under paragraph 7#a7 and other mental health services furnished by the ,secretary2 and 7,b7 using methods described in subsection 7c74 7c7 ,outreach methods ,outreach methods described in this subsection consist of-- 7#a7 successfully contacting the veteran by telephone call or text message2 7#b7 if the ,secretary does not make such contact1 not fewer than two telephone calls or text messages2 or 7#c7 if the ,secretary does not have a telephone number for the veteran-- 7,a7 at least one email2 or 7,b7 if the ,secretary does not have an email address for the veteran1 at least one letter4 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 ,annual report ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this section and annually thereafter for three additional years1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall submit to the ,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate and ,house of ,representatives a report regarding the outreach methods under subsection 7c7 of section #aafi of such title4 ,elements of such report shall include the following3 7#a7 ,the respective rates of success1 in attempting to contact veterans1 for such methods4 7#b7 ,with regards to each such method1 the number of times and percentage of attempts that the ,secretary determined such attempt was unsuccessful4 7#c7 ,with regards to unsuccessful attempts described in paragraph 7#b71 a breakdown of which other methods of outreach the ,secretary used to attempt to contact veterans4 7#d7 ,with regards to each such method1 the number of times and percentage of attempts that led to a veteran engaging with mental health services furnished by the ,secretary4 7#e7 ,the number and percentage of veterans who elected not to receive such outreach4 7d7 ,,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 7,b7 outreach under paragraph 7#b7 of such subsection2 and 7,c7 which outreach method under subsection 7c7 of such section was the most effective method to reach a veteran2 7#b7 whether veterans reported barriers to seeking such consultations2 and 7#c7 such barriers1 if any4 #c4 ,modification of certain housing loan fees ,the loan fee table in section #cgbi7;b77#b7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking ,june #i1 #bjcd each place it appears and inserting ,may #ab1 #bjce4 ,may #d1 #bjbf,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed