H.R. 6000

[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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