H.R. 6858

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6858 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6858

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a review of the 
deaths of certain veterans who died by suicide, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

December 18, 2025

Mr. Garbarino (for himself, Mr. Himes, Mr. Lawler, Mr. Neguse, Mr. 
Kean, and Mr. Davis of North Carolina) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a review of the 
deaths of certain veterans who died by suicide, 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 ``Veteran Suicide Prevention Act''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS REVIEW OF CERTAIN VETERANS' 
DEATHS BY SUICIDE.

(a) Review Required.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
complete a review of the deaths of all covered veterans who died by 
suicide during the five-year period preceding the date of the enactment 
of this Act. Such review shall include--
(1) the total number of veterans who died by suicide during 
the five-year period preceding the date of the enactment of 
this Act;
(2) a summary of such veterans that includes the age, 
gender, and race of such veterans;
(3) a comprehensive list of the medications prescribed to, 
and found in the systems of, such veterans at the time of their 
deaths, specifically listing any medications that carried a 
black box warning, were off-label, psychotropic, or carried 
warnings that included suicidal ideation;
(4) a summary of medical diagnoses by Department of 
Veterans Affairs physicians which led to the prescribing of the 
medications referred to in paragraph (3);
(5) the number of instances in which the veteran who died 
by suicide was concurrently on multiple medications prescribed 
by Department of Veterans Affairs physicians;
(6) the percentage of veterans who died by suicide who were 
not taking any medication prescribed by a Department of 
Veterans Affairs physician;
(7) the percentage of veterans referred to in paragraph (1) 
with combat experience or trauma (including, but not limited to 
military sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury, and post-
traumatic stress);
(8) Veteran Health Administration facilities with markedly 
high prescription and suicide rates of patients being treated 
at those facilities;
(9) a description of Department of Veterans Affairs 
policies governing the prescribing of medications referred to 
in paragraph (3);
(10) any patterns apparent to the Secretary based on the 
review; and
(11) recommendations for further action that would improve 
the safety and well-being of veterans.
(b) Public Availability.--Not later than 30 days after the 
completion of the review required under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall--
(1) submit to Congress a report on the results of the 
review; and
(2) make such report publicly available.
(c) Covered Veteran.--In this section:
(1) The term ``covered veteran'' means any veteran who 
received hospital care or medical services furnished by the 
Department of Veterans Affairs during the five-year period 
preceding the death of the veteran.
(2) The term ``black box warning'' means a warning 
displayed within a box in the prescribing information for drugs 
that have special problems, particularly ones that may lead to 
death or serious injury.
<all>