H.R. 411 – Veteran Suicide Prevention Act

AI-Generated Summary

Updated April 15, 2026 at 11:36 AM UTC

The Veteran Suicide Prevention Act requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to examine all veteran suicides that occurred in the five years before the law’s enactment, but only for veterans who received VA hospital or medical care. Within 18 months the VA must produce a detailed report on how many veterans died, their demographics, the medications they were taking, medical diagnoses, and any links to combat or trauma. The findings and any recommendations must be sent to Congress and made public within 30 days of the review’s completion.

Key Provisions

The VA Secretary must finish the suicide‑death review within 18 months of the law’s enactment.
The review covers every veteran who died by suicide and had received VA care in the prior five years.
The report must include counts, age, gender, race, medication details (including black‑box warnings, off‑label, psychotropic, or suicide‑risk warnings), diagnoses that led to those prescriptions, and instances of multiple VA‑prescribed drugs.
It must also note the share of decedents not on VA‑prescribed medication, the proportion with combat or trauma exposure, and identify VA facilities with unusually high prescription or suicide rates.
The VA must describe its prescribing policies, highlight any patterns found, and offer recommendations to improve veteran safety.
A summary of the review must be submitted to Congress and posted publicly within 30 days after the review is finished.

Legislative Activity

Stay on top of the latest movement without scrolling through every action

2 earlier actions

HouseCommittee Latest Action

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Health Subcommittee

February 3, 2017

View full timeline

HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

January 10, 2017

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Veterans' Affairs Committee

January 10, 2017

HouseCommittee

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Health Subcommittee

February 3, 2017

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about H.R. 411 on the floor

1 Republican

Rep. Peter T. KingR-NY-2 · Sep 27, 2017

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Suicide Prevention Month and to draw attention to the continuing fight against veteran suicide. Sadly, approximately 20 veterans take their own lives every…

Bill Text

Latest available legislative text

Reading Mode

Raw Text PDF XML

Introduced in HouseIssued January 10, 2017

I

115th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 411

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 10, 2017

Mr. King of New York (for himself, Mr. Abraham, Mrs. Radewagen, Ms. DeLauro, Ms. Stefanik, Mr. Carter of Georgia, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. O'Rourke, Mr. Peters, Mr. Joyce of Ohio, Mr. Meehan, Mr. Jones, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Keating, Mr. Coffman, Mr. Cramer, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. Quigley, Ms. Shea-Porter, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Cicilline, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Cole, Ms. Pingree, Mrs. Comstock, Mr. Massie, Mr. Rush, Mr. Cárdenas, Mr. Yoder, Mr. Moulton, and Mr. Himes) 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.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Veteran Suicide Prevention Act.

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)

Veterans 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.