Introduced in Senate — S. 1361

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1361

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

April 9, 2025

Mr. Cramer (for himself and Mr. Coons) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

A BILL

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to give priority in the consideration of suicide prevention grants to entities located in States that have not received such a grant, and for other purposes.

Section 1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Every State Counts for Veterans Mental Health Act.

Sec. 2. Priority for Department of Veterans Affairs suicide prevention grant recipients in States in which a grant has not been awarded

Section 201(d) of the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019 (Public Law 116–171; 10 U.S.C. 1720F note) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

(3) Additional priority for States that have not received a grant
(A) In general
The Secretary shall prioritizing consideration of any eligible entity located in a State in which an entity has applied but not received a grant under this section.
(B) Scoring preference
If no entity in a particular State has received a grant under this section, the Secretary shall give all eligible entities in that State that apply for such a grant a scoring preference until at least one grant is awarded to an eligible entity in that State.