{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hr2340-116/featured_fight-veteran-suicides-act-1559459101.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hr2340-116/featured_large_fight-veteran-suicides-act-1559459101.jpg","shareable":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/hr2340-116.png"},"introduced_on":"2019-04-18","title_override":"Should Veteran Suicides and Suicide Attempts at VA Facilities be Reported to Congress?","summary_override":"

This bill — the FIGHT Veteran Suicides Act — would require Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) to notify Congress within seven days of any suicide or attempted suicide that takes place in or on a VA facility’s grounds.

It’d also require the VA to submit additional incident information to Congress about:

The veteran’s service record;
The veteran’s demographics (including their age, marital status, housing and employment status);
The veteran’s use of VA healthcare and their most recent encounter with any VA facility or employee before the suicide or attempted suicide; and
Whether the veteran had private medical insurance within 60 days of the incident.

The VA would also be required to provide confirmation that the VA Secretary has provided notice to the immediate family members of the veteran regarding any VA support or assistance they might be eligible for.

This bill’s full title is the Fostering Intergovernmental Health Transparency in Veteran Suicides Act.

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Having the VA report to Congress on veteran suicides and suicide attempts on VA grounds will keep lawmakers informed.","argument_against":"The VA already gives Congress yearly suicide and suicide attempt reporting, including an additional report about each individual suicide or suicide attempt on VA grounds to Congress on a case-by-case basis is excessive. An annual report that helps Congress understand the broader context of and challenge of addressing veteran suicides is the best way for the VA and Congress to work together to address this problem.","bill_type":"hr","published":true,"type":"FederalBill","id":"hr2340-116","bill_id":"hr2340-116","formal_id":"H.R. 2340","chamber":"house","congress":116,"last_action_at":"2019-05-22T00:00:00.000Z","active":false,"enacted":false,"enacted_at":null,"vetoed":false,"last_vote_at":null,"debated_on":"2019-05-17T20:45:42.000Z","congress_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2340","plain_text_url":null,"shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/hr2340-116.png","congress_full_text_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2340/text","is_current_congress":false,"last_version_on":null,"related_bill_ids":null,"progress":"Passed House","house_passage_result":true,"senate_passage_result":false,"position_count":227,"committees":[{"name":"Health","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSVR03","subcommittee":true},{"name":"Committee on Veterans' Affairs","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSVR","subcommittee":false}],"links":{"rollCalls":"/api/roll_calls?bill_id=hr2340-116","details":"/api/bills/hr2340-116/details","sharingMessage":"/api/sharing_messages/hr2340-116","positionsFor":"/api/bills/hr2340-116/positions/for","positionsAgainst":"/api/bills/hr2340-116/positions/against"},"upcoming":false,"cosponsors_count":12,"slug":"hr2340-116-fight-veteran-suicides-act","latest_chamber_votes_id":null,"official_url":null,"target_video":true,"following":false,"vote_count":1046,"yea_vote_count":912,"nay_vote_count":129,"passed_house":true,"passed_senate":false,"vote_id":null,"my_position_id":null,"topic_ids":["health"],"issue_ids":["federal-agencies","health","veterans-affairs"],"sponsor_id":3846}],"votes":[],"issues":[{"id":"federal-agencies","name":"Federal Agencies","slug":"federal-agencies","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Federal Agencies. 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Countable is live on the web, as an iPhone app in the App Store, and on Android on Amazon and Google Play.\r\n\r\nTell your Senators and Representative what you think about how they’re doing for Veterans Affairs– not every six or two years – but every day!\r\n","page_title":"Veterans Affairs Issue Desk at Countable - Vote on Legislation, Stay informed, Hold Government Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/veterans-affairs/black_veterans-affairs-1429042036.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/veterans-affairs/grey_veterans-affairs-1429042036.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/veterans-affairs/white_veterans-affairs-1429042036.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false}],"users":[{"name":"Mark","vote_count":123,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-hat.png","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-hat.png","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-hat.png"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/Amp041wm/following","followers":"/api/users/Amp041wm/followers"},"about_me":null,"twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":null,"issue_count":1,"is_following":null,"influence_score":100,"influence_level":20,"follower_count":3,"following_count":0,"position_count":48,"id":"Amp041wm","partner_id":null}],"bill_position":{"flagged":false,"id":"8e7a338e-1352-4920-8ff4-625d1827402e","argument_for":"They need to know about it if they are going to do anything about it. You cannot make decisions in a vacuum.","argument_against":null,"show_argument_for":true,"show_argument_against":false,"upvote_count":0,"upvotes_for_count":0,"upvotes_against_count":null,"has_upvoted":false,"endorsement_count":0,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/positions/8e7a338e-1352-4920-8ff4-625d1827402e"},"body":"They need to know about it if they are going to do anything about it. You cannot make decisions in a vacuum.","stance":"yea","created_at":"2019-05-21T19:25:24.773Z","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/positions/8e7a338e-1352-4920-8ff4-625d1827402e.png","note_color":null,"note_text":null,"bill_id":"hr2340-116","user_id":"Amp041wm","endorser_ids":[]}}

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Should Veteran Suicides and Suicide Attempts at VA Facilities be Reported to Congress?