Clay Hunt SAV Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act or the Clay Hunt SAV Act - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to each arrange for an independent third party evaluation of, respectively, the VA and DOD mental health care and suicide prevention programs.
Directs the VA Secretary to publish an Internet website that serves as a centralized source to provide veterans with regularly updated information regarding all of the VA's mental health care services.
Requires the VA Secretary and the DOD Secretary to enter into certain strategic relationships to facilitate:
the mental health referrals of members of the reserve components who have a service-connected disability and are being discharged or released from the Armed Forces,
timely behavioral health services for such members,
communication when such members are at risk for behavioral health reasons, and
the transfer of documentation for line-of-duty and fitness-for-duty determinations.
Requires the VA Secretary to carry out a three-year pilot program to repay the education loans relating to psychiatric medicine that are incurred by individuals who:
are eligible to practice psychiatric medicine in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) or are enrolled in the final year of a residency program leading to a specialty qualification in psychiatric medicine,
demonstrate a commitment to a long-term career as a psychiatrist in the VHA, and
agree to a period of obligated service with the VHA in the field of psychiatric medicine in exchange for the repayment of such loans.
Requires the DOD Secretary to submit to Congress a review of the staffing requirements for individual State National Guard Commands with respect to Directors of Psychological Health.
Authorizes the VA Secretary to collaborate with nonprofit mental health organizations to prevent suicide among veterans. Requires the collaborators to exchange training sessions, best practices, and other resources to enhance their suicide prevention efforts. Directs the Secretary to select a Director of Suicide Prevention Coordination within the VA to undertake any collaboration with nonprofit mental health organizations.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on November 17, 2014. 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 November 17, 2014: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- 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 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 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?
JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ) introduced it on November 17, 2014, and 21 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 10 Democrats, 11 Republicans.
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 November 17, 2014, 4362 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4362 days ago, on November 17, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 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