Military Suicide Prevention in the 21st Century Act

Military Suicide Prevention in the 21st Century Act

This bill requires the Department of Defense to carry out a two-year pilot program to pre-program suicide prevention resources onto smart devices issued to members of the Armed Forces and to provide training on these resources.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8125 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8125

To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a pilot program to pre-
   program suicide prevention resources into smart devices issued to 
                      members of the Armed Forces.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 28, 2020

Mr. Joyce of Ohio (for himself, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Gonzalez of Ohio, and 
Mr. Cisneros) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a pilot program to pre-
   program suicide prevention resources into smart devices issued to 
                      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 Suicide Prevention in the 
21st Century Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Although personal electronic devices, such as mobile 
        phones, computers, and tablets, increasingly are being 
        leveraged as vehicles for health in the civilian world, almost 
        nothing is known about personal technology use among members of 
        the Armed Forces.
            (2) The Defense Health Agency created the Virtual Hope Box 
        application to help members of the Armed Forces build 
        resilience.
            (3) Users of the Virtual Hope Box application reported 
        significantly greater ability to cope with unpleasant emotions 
        and thoughts.
            (4) Members of the Armed Forces who are behavioral health 
        patients experiencing distress, emotional dysregulation, or 
        suicidal ideation are often separated from direct clinical 
        support when they need it.
            (5) The Virtual Hope Box application offers a highly 
        portable, accessible, and discreet tool for effectively 
        increasing coping self-efficacy.
            (6) A strongly linked chain of care depends on engaged 
        leaders as well as highly competent first responders, crisis 
        hotline workers, emergency department personnel, chaplains, 
        primary care clinicians, and behavioral health clinicians.

SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM ON PRE-PROGRAMMING OF SUICIDE PREVENTION 
              RESOURCES INTO SMART DEVICES ISSUED TO MEMBERS OF THE 
              ARMED FORCES.

    (a) In General.--Commencing not later than 120 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall carry out 
a pilot program under which the Secretary--
            (1) pre-downloads the Virtual Hope Box application of the 
        Defense Health Agency, or successor application, on smart 
        devices individually issued to members of the Armed Forces;
            (2) pre-programs the National Suicide Hotline number and 
        Veterans Crisis Line number into the contacts for such devices; 
        and
            (3) provides training, as part of training on suicide 
        awareness and prevention conducted throughout the Department of 
        Defense, on the preventative resources described in paragraphs 
        (1) and (2).
    (b) Duration.--The Secretary shall carry out the pilot program 
under this section for a two-year period.
    (c) Scope.--The Secretary shall determine the appropriate scope of 
individuals participating in the pilot program under this section to 
best represent each Armed Force and to ensure a relevant sample size.
    (d) Identification of Other Resources.--In carrying out the pilot 
program under this section, the Secretary shall coordinate with the 
Director of the Defense Health Agency and the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs to identify other useful technology-related resources for use 
in the pilot program.
    (e) Report.--Not later than 30 days after completing the pilot 
program under this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 
on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of 
the House of Representatives a report on the pilot program.
    (f) Veterans Crisis Line Defined.--In this section, the term 
``Veterans Crisis Line'' means the toll-free hotline for veterans 
established under section 1720F(h) of title 38, United States Code.
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