Every State Counts for Veterans Mental Health Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1361 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1361

 To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to give priority in the 
   consideration of suicide prevention grants to entities located in 
  States that have not received such a grant, and for other purposes.


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 9, 2025

 Mr. Cramer (for himself and Mr. Coons) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

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                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to give priority in the 
   consideration of suicide prevention grants to entities located in 
  States that have not received such a grant, 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 ``Every State Counts for Veterans 
Mental Health Act''.

SEC. 2. PRIORITY FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS SUICIDE PREVENTION 
              GRANT RECIPIENTS IN STATES IN WHICH A GRANT HAS NOT BEEN 
              AWARDED.

    Section 201(d) of the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental 
Health Care Improvement Act of 2019 (Public Law 116-171; 10 U.S.C. 
1720F note) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
            ``(3) Additional priority for states that have not received 
        a grant.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall prioritizing 
                consideration of any eligible entity located in a State 
                in which an entity has applied but not received a grant 
                under this section.
                    ``(B) Scoring preference.--If no entity in a 
                particular State has received a grant under this 
                section, the Secretary shall give all eligible entities 
                in that State that apply for such a grant a scoring 
                preference until at least one grant is awarded to an 
                eligible entity in that State.''.
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