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HR 26 112th Congress House

Veterans Mental Health Screening and Assessment Act

Official title: To direct the Secretary of Defense to adopt a program of professional and confidential screenings to detect mental health injuries acquired during deployment i… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To direct the Secretary of Defense to adopt a program of professional and confidential screenings to detect mental health injuries acquired during deployment in support of a contingency operation and ultimately to reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans.

Introduced: January 13, 2012 See on congress.gov
Armed Forces and National Security Health information and medical recordsMedical tests and diagnostic methodsMental healthMilitary personnel and dependents
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Neurological disordersVeterans' medical care
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This bill died when the 112th Congress ended
It never became law before the 112th Congress (2011–2012) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Feb 18, 2011
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Feb 4, 2011
Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Jan 5, 2011
Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Jan 5, 2011
Introduced in House
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 Latest action February 18, 2011

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Veterans Mental Health Screening and Assessment Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the increasing rate of suicide among veterans returning from Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom is a serious problem; and (2) the Secretary of Defense should conduct mandatory, face-to-face, and confidential mental health and traumatic brain injury screenings for each member of the Armed Forces (member) during the period beginning 90 days after the member completes a deployment in support of a contingency operation and ending 180 days thereafter.

Directs the Secretary to carry out such screenings. Prohibits the Secretary from prohibiting a member from returning to the United States due to any screening result or determination.

Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a joint protocol to share existing and future reports from confidential screenings conducted to help aid members in their transition from health care and treatment provided by the Department of Defense (DOD) to health care and treatment provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 4
 Cosponsors 2
All 2 Democratic 2
D
Himes, James A.
Connecticut · Jan 13, 2012
 D
Garamendi, John
California · Jun 16, 2011
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 26: Veterans Mental Health Screening and Assessment Act. 112th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HR-26/
MLA
"H.R. 26: Veterans Mental Health Screening and Assessment Act." 112th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HR-26/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 26, 112th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HR-26/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 26: Veterans Mental Health Screening and Assessment Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HR-26/)
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