To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a study on the impact of combat service on suicide rates and other mental health issues among members of the Armed Forces and veterans.

SA 2795. Mr. BENNET submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2763 proposed by Mr. Kirk (for himself, Mr. Tester, and
Ms. Mikulski) to the bill H.R. 2029, making appropriations for military
construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, and for other purposes;
as follows:

At the end of title II, add the following:
Sec. 2__. (a) Not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, enter
into a contract with an independent third party described in
subsection (b) to carry out a study on the impact of
participation in combat during service in the Armed Forces on
suicides and other mental health issues among members of the
Armed Forces and veterans.
(b) An independent third party described in this subsection
is an independent third party that has appropriate
credentials to access information in the possession of the
Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs
that is necessary to carry out the study required under
subsection (a).
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