[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6000 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6000
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the collection and
analysis of data regarding certain suicides by veterans, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 10, 2025
Mr. Crow (for himself and Mr. Ellzey) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the collection and
analysis of data regarding certain suicides by veterans, 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 ``Veterans' Sentinel Act''.
SEC. 2. SUICIDES BY VETERANS ON PROPERTY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS: COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA; WORKING GROUP.
(a) Annual Reports.--Section 1709B of title 38, United States Code,
is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as subparagraph
(3); and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following
new paragraph (2):
``(2) The statistical trends and recommendations described
in subsection (b).'';
(2) by redesignating subsection (b), as amended, as
subsection (c); and
(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new
subsection (b):
``(b) On-Campus Suicides.--On an annual basis, the Secretary
shall--
``(1) evaluate the statistical trends of suicides and
attempted suicides by veterans that occur on the property of
the Department; and
``(2) determine recommendations for preventing such
suicides and attempted suicides.''.
(b) Working Group.--
(1) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall establish a working group to collect and analyze data
regarding on-campus suicides and attempted on-campus suicides.
(2) Methodology.--In collecting and analyzing the
information under paragraph (1), the working group shall--
(A) review root cause analysis data available to
the Secretary regarding all on-campus suicides and
attempted on-campus suicides;
(B) with respect to on-campus suicides--
(i) analyze data available to the Secretary
under the Behavioral Health Autopsy Program of
the Department, including family interviews;
and
(ii) document reasons for any deficiencies
in the data collected; and
(C) not less frequently than every 90 days,
communicate with the medical centers and field offices
of the Department in order to coordinate the collection
and review actions of the working group with such
actions carried out by the medical centers and field
offices.
(3) Data collection improvements.--The working group shall
consider, and may implement for purposes described in paragraph
(1), improvements to the processes by which the Secretary
collects data regarding on-campus suicides and attempted on-
campus suicides in order to unify the disparate sources of such
data, including with respect to--
(A) modifying incident reports and other methods to
collect data, including both suicide and attempted
suicide report fields;
(B) developing and ensuring that each source of
data relating to on-campus suicides and attempted on-
campus suicides includes a specified section for such
on-campus incidents; and
(C) developing an associated management system to
consolidate all relevant data for on-campus suicides
and attempted on-campus suicides, including such data
from Behavioral Health Autopsy Program assessments,
health records of the Department, root cause analyses,
incident reports, and other sources of data.
(4) Briefings.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter during the
period of operation under paragraph (6), the Secretary shall
provide to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives and Senate a briefing on the progress and
findings of the working group established under such paragraph.
(5) Report.--Not later than 30 days after the end of the
period of operation under paragraph (6), the Secretary shall
submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Senate a report detailing--
(A) the effectiveness of the working group
established under such paragraph; and
(B) any recommendations to enhance the data
collection and management by the Secretary with respect
to on-campus suicides and attempted on-campus suicides,
including improvements identified under paragraph (3).
(6) Duration.--The working group shall operate for a period
determined by the Secretary that is not less than two years and
not longer than five years.
(7) On-campus suicide defined.--In this subsection, the
term ``on-campus suicide'' means a suicide described in section
1709B(b) of title 38, United States Code, as amended by
subsection (a).
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