119-hr3863

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3863 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3863

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs to furnish annual mental health consultations to 
 certain veterans, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 June 10, 2025

 Ms. Budzinski (for herself and Mr. Edwards) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs to furnish annual mental health consultations to 
 certain veterans, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``VA Mental Health Outreach and 
Engagement Act''.

SEC. 2. MENTAL HEALTH CONSULTATIONS AND OUTREACH TO A VETERAN RECEIVING 
 COMPENSATION FOR A SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITY RELATING 
 TO A MENTAL HEALTH DIAGNOSIS.

    (a) Annual Consultation; Outreach.--The 

section 1167 of title 38, 
United States Code, relating to mental health consultations is 
amended--

    (1) in subsection

    (a) , in the subsection heading, by 
 striking ``In General'' and inserting ``Initial Consultation'';

    (2) by redesignating subsections

    (b) and
            (c) as subsections
            (c) and
            (d) , respectively;

    (3) by inserting after subsection

    (a) the following new 
 subsection

    (b) :
 ``

    (b) Annual Consultation; Outreach.--Not less frequently than once 
each year, the Secretary shall, with regards to a veteran who is 
receiving compensation under this chapter for a service-connected 
disability relating to a mental health diagnosis--
 ``

    (1) offer a mental health consultation to assess the 
 mental health needs of, and discuss other mental health care 
 options for, the veteran; and
 ``

    (2) conduct outreach regarding the availability of--
 ``
        (A) consultations under paragraph

    (1) ; and
 ``
        (B) other mental health services furnished by the 
 Secretary.'';

    (4) in subsection
            (c) , as redesignated by paragraph

    (2) , by 
 inserting ``or

    (b) '' after ``under subsection

    (a) '' both places 
 it appears; and

    (5) in subsection
            (d) , as redesignated by paragraph

    (2) , by 
 inserting ``, or to require the reevaluation of any entitlement 
 of the veteran to compensation under this chapter'' before the 
 period at the end.

    (b) Technical Corrections.--

    (1) Redesignation.--Such section, as amended, is 
 redesignated as 

section 1169 of such title.

    (2) Clerical amendments.--The table of sections at the 
 beginning of chapter 11 of such title is amended--
        (A) by striking the item relating to the 

section 1167 that relates to mental health consultations; and
        (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

section 1168 the following new item:

``1169. Mental health consultations.''.
            (c) GAO Review.--Not later than two years after the date of the 
enactment of this section, 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 section. Elements of such report shall include--

    (1) the number of veterans who received--
        (A) mental health consultations under paragraph

    (1) of subsection

    (b) of 

section 1169 of such title; and
        (B) outreach under paragraph

    (2) of such 
 subsection;

    (2) whether veterans reported barriers to seeking such 
 consultations; and

    (3) such barriers, if any.
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