Military Mental Health Review Board Improvement Act

Military Mental Health Review Board Improvement Act - Requires any medical advisory opinion issued to a civilian board for the correction of a military record, with respect to a current or former member of the Armed Forces diagnosed while serving in the Armed Forces as experiencing a mental health disorder, to include the opinion of a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist if the request for the correction of the records concerned relates to a mental health disorder.

Requires any physician on a board for review of a discharge or dismissal of certain former members of the Armed Forces, who after deployment were diagnosed as experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury, or as having a mental health disorder, to have training on mental health issues connected with PTSD or traumatic brain injury (as applicable), or special training on mental health disorders.

[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2217 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2217

To amend title 10, United States Code, to enhance the participation of 
 mental health professionals in boards for the correction of military 
  records and boards for the review of the discharge or dismissal of 
                      members of the Armed Forces.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 7, 2014

   Mr. Tester (for himself, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. 
Walsh) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
                   to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to enhance the participation of 
 mental health professionals in boards for the correction of military 
  records and boards for the review of the discharge or dismissal of 
                      members of the Armed Forces.

    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 ``Military Mental Health Review Board 
Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. ENHANCEMENT OF PARTICIPATION OF MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN 
              BOARDS FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS AND BOARDS FOR 
              REVIEW OF DISCHARGE OR DISMISSAL OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 
              FORCES.

    (a) Boards for Correction of Military Records.--Section 1552 of 
title 10, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following new 
        subsection (g):
    ``(g) Any medical advisory opinion issued to a board established 
under subsection (a)(1) with respect to a member or former member of 
the armed forces who was diagnosed while serving in the armed forces as 
experiencing a mental health disorder shall include the opinion of a 
clinical psychologist or psychiatrist if the request for correction of 
records concerned relates to a mental health disorder.''.
    (b) Boards for Review of Discharge or Dismissal.--
            (1) Review for certain former members with ptsd or tbi.--
        Subsection (d)(1) of section 1553 of such title is amended by 
        striking ``physician, clinical psychologist, or psychiatrist'' 
        the second place it appears and inserting ``clinical 
        psychologist or psychiatrist, or a physician with training on 
        mental health issues connected with post traumatic stress 
        disorder or traumatic brain injury (as applicable)''.
            (2) Review for certain former members with mental health 
        diagnoses.--Such section is further amended by adding at the 
        end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) In the case of a former member of the armed forces (other 
than a former member covered by subsection (d)) who was diagnosed while 
serving in the armed forces as experiencing a mental health disorder, a 
board established under this section to review the former member's 
discharge or dismissal shall include a member who is a clinical 
psychologist or psychiatrist, or a physician with special training on 
mental health disorders.''.
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