[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3027 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3027
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a counseling
program for certain survivors of veterans who die by suicide.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 24, 2025
Mr. Van Drew introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a counseling
program for certain survivors of veterans who die by suicide.
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 ``Green Star Families Act''.
SEC. 2. COUNSELING PROGRAM FOR NEXT OF KIN AND CAREGIVERS OF VETERANS
WHO DIE BY SUICIDE.
(a) Establishment.--Subchapter II of chapter 17 of title 38, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section
(and amending the table of sections at the beginning of such chapter
accordingly):
``Sec. 1720M. Counseling program for next of kin and caregivers of
veterans who die by suicide
``(a) Counseling Program.--(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the
Secretary shall furnish, at no cost to the recipient, counseling
services to--
``(A) the next of kin of a veteran who dies by suicide; and
``(B) a former volunteer caregiver of a veteran who dies by
suicide.
``(2) The Secretary may provide counseling services under this
section only if the Secretary determines such counseling services are--
``(A) reasonably accessible to an individual described in
paragraph (1); and
``(B) substantially equivalent or superior to similar
services furnished by the Secretary to an individual described
in paragraph (1).
``(3) To carry out subsection (a), the Secretary may enter into an
agreement with a Federal, State, or private entity. The Secretary may
provide fair compensation to such entity pursuant to such agreement.
``(b) Public Awareness.--In carrying out the program under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
``(1) publish information relating to the program on a
website of the Department; and
``(2) provide information relating to the program to any
individual described in paragraph (1).
``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `covered veterans service organization'
includes--
``(A) an organization recognized by the Secretary
for the representation of veterans under section 5902
of this title; and
``(B) an organization--
``(i) that is described in section
501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under
section 501(a) of such Code; and
``(ii) that carries out activities relating
to veterans and their assistance.
``(2) The term `former volunteer caregiver' means, with
respect to a veteran who dies by suicide, an individual--
``(A) who is at least 18 years of age; and
``(B) who, prior to the death of the veteran, and
in connection with a covered veterans service
organization, furnished the veteran with counseling,
social work, or other personal care services--
``(i) without compensation to such
individual; and
``(ii) for a period of at least three
months.
``(3) The term `next of kin' means the closest living
relative of a veteran who dies by suicide, in the following
order of priority:
``(A) Spouse.
``(B) A child.
``(C) A parent.
``(D) A sibling.
``(E) Another individual determined by the
Secretary.
``(4) The term `personal care services' has the meaning
given such term in section 1720G of this title.''.
(b) Implementation Deadline.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall carry out section 1720M of such title, as added by subsection
(a), not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
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