S.Amdt. 1480

SA 1480. Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Ms. Ayotte) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 1463 proposed by Mr.
McCain to the bill H.R. 1735, to authorize appropriations for fiscal
year 2016 for military activities of the Department of Defense and for
military construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for
such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on
the table; as follows:

Insert after section 588 the following:

SEC. 588A. SENSE OF SENATE ON THE BEYOND THE YELLOW RIBBON
PROGRAM.

It is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) programs under the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program
provide community-based outreach services that coordinate
state and local resources into a single network to offer
critical support to members of the Armed Forces before,
during, and after military service deployments;
(2) services under the Beyond Yellow Ribbon program include
substance abuse treatment, mental health, suicide prevention,
employment services, educational assistance, military sexual
assault referrals, health care, marriage and financial
counseling and other related services;
(3) programs under the Beyond Yellow Ribbon program have
helped thousands of members of the Armed Forces, veterans and
their family members cope with the challenges associated with
deployments and military service;
(4) programs under the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program
have seen significant outcomes in areas including suicide
prevention, access to mental health care, homelessness
prevention, and access to employment for veterans; and
(5) the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program has enduring
value; and
(6) the Department of Defense should identify permanent
funding and continue its support for the Beyond the Yellow
Ribbon program as the needs of our men and women in the Armed
Forces and their families for outreach and reintegration
services continue to increase.
______