[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5995 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5995
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make grants to eligible
entities for the purpose of carrying out Ask the Question Campaigns,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 10, 2025
Ms. Brownley (for herself and Mr. Thanedar) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make grants to eligible
entities for the purpose of carrying out Ask the Question Campaigns,
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 ``Have You Served Act''.
SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR ASK THE QUESTION CAMPAIGNS.
(a) Grant Program.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall make
grants to eligible entities for the purpose of carrying out campaigns,
to be known as ``Ask the Question Campaigns'', to encourage human
services professionals, State and local governments, and community
providers to ask consumers whether they or a loved one have served in
the Armed Forces.
(b) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under
subsection (a) shall use the grant--
(1) to develop or expand an Ask the Question Campaign,
under which the entity shall provide training to human services
professionals, State and local governments, and community
providers about--
(A) how to appropriately ask consumers whether they
or a loved one have served in the Armed Forces; and
(B) resources available for members of the Armed
Forces and veterans in their community through the
Department of Veterans Affairs and other service
providers to encourage the recipients of such training
to refer consumers to the Department and other service
providers, as appropriate; and
(2) for associated program costs, including staffing,
technology, marketing and outreach materials, and convenings.
(c) Eligible Entity.--For purposes of this section, an eligible
entity is a State or an American Indian or Alaska Native tribe--
(1) that--
(A) in the case of a State, develops a veteran
suicide prevention plan, known as a ``Governors
Challenge Action Plan''; or
(B) in the case of an American Indian or Alaska
Native tribe, develops a veteran suicide prevention
plan; and
(2) that submits to the Secretary a proposal for the
implementation of such plan that contains such information and
assurances as the Secretary may require.
(d) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary shall provide technical
assistance to eligible entities that receive grants under this section
to support the development and implementation of Ask the Question
Campaigns. Such assistance shall include--
(1) the provision of best practices acquired from the
experiences of other eligible entities carrying out Ask the
Question Campaigns;
(2) the provision of information on veterans resources in
the State where the eligible entity is located;
(3) the provision of information about screening protocols
used by the Department for assessing suicide risk and social
determinants of health; and
(4) establishing key performance indicators for the
training provided under the Campaigns.
(e) Amount of Grant.--The Secretary may make up to 25 grants under
this section for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030. Each such
grant shall be in an amount that does not exceed ``$200,000''.
(f) Reporting.--
(1) Grant recipients.--As a condition of a grant under this
section, an eligible entity shall agree to submit, by not later
than the last day of each fiscal year during which the entity
receives a grant, to the Secretary a report on the key
performance indicators for the training provided using the
grant funds.
(2) Implementation report.--Not later than one year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
submit to Congress a report on the implementation of this
section.
(3) Annual report.--Not later than 30 days after the last
day of a fiscal year for which the Secretary makes a grant
under this section, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a
report on the key performance indicators for the training
provided under such grants.
(g) Ask the Question Campaigns for Federal Agencies.--The
Secretary, in coordination with the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget, shall develop a plan to work with each Federal
department and agency to implement Ask the Question Campaigns, where
appropriate, through any social service or health care programs of the
department or agency through which employees of the department or
agency interact with individuals receiving services and benefits.
(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out this
section $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
(i) State Defined.--In this section, the term ``State'' means each
of the several States, Territories, and possessions of the United
States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
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