Veterans Mental Health Care Capacity Enhancement Act of 2005
Latest action. Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Provisions of measure incorporated into measure S. 1182, as amended, ordered to be reported.
Veterans Mental Health Care Capacity Enhancement Act of 2005 - Requires the Under Secretary for Health for the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs to include as goals in performance contracts for prioritizing mental health services to veterans: (1) establishing appropriate staff-patient ratio levels; (2) fostering collaborative environments for providers; and (3) encouraging clinicians to conduct mental health consultations during primary care visits.
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that not less than 90 percent of Department community-based outpatient clinics have the capacity to provide on-site, contract-referral, or tele-mental health services for at least: (1) ten percent of all clinic visits by no later than September 30, 2006; and (2) 15 percent of all clinic visits by no later than September 30, 2007.
Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs to enter into a memorandum of understanding to ensure interdepartmental cooperation on mental health awareness and mental illness prevention.
Requires the Under Secretary to establish system-wide guidelines for screening primary care patients for mental health disorders and illnesses.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on June 7, 2005. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 15, 2005: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Provisions of measure incorporated into measure S. 1182, as amended, ordered to be reported.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
DANIEL AKAKA (D-HI) introduced it on June 7, 2005, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 4 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 7, 2005, 7765 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7665 days ago, on September 15, 2005.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers