H.R. 6024 — BRAVE Act of 2025

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, not later than 180 days after the date of enactment, to submit to the congressional veterans' affairs committees a report on market pay surveys reviewed by the Chief Readjustment Counseling Officer for Readjustment Counseling Service (RCS) positions—including licensed professional mental health counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists—in each RCS district. The report must (1) assess pay disparities between RCS employees and similarly situated employees within VA and the private sector and (2) identify any pay-related staffing challenges and, if so, whether each district has initiated reviews of third-party survey data for the relevant occupations. The report must cover all RCS districts—including geographically diverse, rural, highly rural, urban, and health care shortage areas—and base pay assessments on third-party survey data, geographic location, equivalent qualifications (i.e., licensure, education level, or experience), and short-term incentives.

This section revises waiver authority under VA health care appointment qualifications (38 U.S.C. 7402(b)) for psychologists and licensed professional mental health counselors in mental health support occupations. (1) For psychologists, it replaces the fixed waiver period with authority for a reasonable period of time recommended by the Under Secretary for Health. (2) For licensed professional mental health counselors, it authorizes the Secretary to waive licensure or certification requirements for a reasonable period of time recommended by the Under Secretary for Health. (Previously, no waiver was authorized.)

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to the congressional Veterans’ Affairs Committees, not later than 60 days after enactment, a report assessing coordination between the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) clinical care system—which provides medical services to veterans—and the Readjustment Counseling Service's Vet Centers—which offer readjustment counseling, including to veterans at high risk for suicide. The report must include (1) an assessment of each Veterans Integrated Service Network director's adherence to VHA policies requiring alignment of VA support facilities with local Vet Centers for administrative and clinical collaboration; and (2) an analysis of whether (a) Vet Center staff have updated contact information for local VA medical facility staff, (b) each medical facility's external clinical consultant and suicide prevention coordinator provides monthly consultations to Vet Center counseling staff onsite, virtually, or by phone, (c) such consultations are documented, and (d) the Under Secretary for Health coordinates with Vet Center outreach specialists to inform Department of Defense Transition Assistance Program participants about Vet Center services.

This section directs the Comptroller General to submit to the congressional veterans' affairs committees, not later than one year after the date of enactment, a report assessing the model used by the Department of Veterans Affairs Readjustment Counseling Service (RCS) to guide expansion of the real property footprint of Vet Centers (i.e., VA counseling centers providing readjustment counseling services, including for PTSD and military sexual trauma, to veterans and their families). The report must assess (1) whether the model accounts for demand for Vet Center services in rural areas; (2) whether the Secretary's frequency of reassessing areas for potential expansion adequately addresses population shifts; (3) whether the model considers needs of veterans in areas with high rates of calls to the Veterans Crisis Line (i.e., VA toll-free hotline under 38 U.S.C. 1720F(h)) or high rates of suicide by veterans or members of the Armed Forces; (4) whether the model accounts for trends in mobile Vet Center usage; and (5) whether the model accounts for unique needs of veterans and members of the Armed Forces in areas assessed.

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, not later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act, to take the following actions to improve outreach by Vet Centers (i.e., VA facilities providing readjustment counseling services, including for PTSD, to veterans and their families): (1) ensure each Vet Center has demographic data (such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, and data on recently transitioned veterans) for eligible individuals in its service area to tailor outreach activities; (2) provide Vet Centers with guidance on assessing outreach effectiveness, including metrics and targets; (3) develop and implement a process to periodically assess barriers experienced by eligible veterans and members of the Armed Forces in accessing Vet Center services (e.g., lack of awareness or access challenges); and (4) develop and implement a process to periodically assess barriers encountered by Vet Center staff in providing services.

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, through the Chief Readjustment Counseling Officer of the Veterans Health Administration, to submit a report to the Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs not later than 60 days after enactment of this Act identifying (1) whether the Department is retaining or replacing RCSNet, the current information technology platform used by the Readjustment Counseling Service (RCS)—which provides readjustment counseling to veterans at Vet Centers—for employee daily work and operational data management; (2) if retaining RCSNet, the rationale, steps to maintain or improve it, and timeline; and (3) if replacing RCSNet, the rationale, implementation steps, timeline, and estimated cost.

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, not later than 240 days after enactment, to conduct surveys and host listening sessions with women veterans in urban and rural areas across demographics to assess (1) perceptions and acceptance of VA suicide prevention, lethal-means safety, and mental health resources and messaging campaigns; (2) their effectiveness and tailoring to women veterans; (3) potential benefits of integrating information on military sexual trauma, intimate partner violence, and trauma-informed health care; (4) additional improvements, including to the Women's Health Transition Training Program; and (5) targeting to women veterans of different ages, eras of service, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and geographical areas. Not later than one year after completing the surveys and sessions, the Secretary must submit a report to the Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs documenting the findings and steps to refine those VA resources and campaigns based on the feedback.

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, not later than 60 days after enactment, to initiate modifications to the Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health–Veterans Enhanced Treatment program (REACH VET)—a suicide prevention initiative that uses predictive modeling to identify veterans at elevated risk and facilitate clinical outreach—to incorporate risk factors weighted for women veterans (e.g., military sexual trauma and intimate partner violence).

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, not later than 60 days after enactment, to review all requests for reintegration and readjustment services for veterans and family members in group retreat settings under 38 U.S.C. 1712A(a)(1)(B)(ii) to determine if current programming meets demand for (1) women-only retreats, (2) disabled access retreats (particularly wheelchair accessible retreats), and (3) retreats for veterans with specific medical needs. Not later than 120 days after enactment, the Secretary must submit to the congressional Veterans’ Affairs Committees a report on whether to increase and make permanent the provision of such services for those categories.

This section modifies the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program—under which the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) awards grants to eligible entities (e.g., nonprofits and local governments) to provide or coordinate suicide prevention services for veterans and their family members—by (1) increasing the amount in subsection (c)(2)(A) to $1 million (from $750,000); and (2) extending the program's duration to six years (from three years).

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, not later than 60 days after enactment, to submit to the congressional Veterans' Affairs Committees a plan to ensure access to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mental health residential rehabilitation treatment programs for veterans with spinal cord injuries or disorders (SCI/D). The plan must include (1) a staffing plan to incorporate personnel from other facilities for a required pilot program and to meet veterans' needs, (2) an assessment of medical equipment needs, and (3) an assessment of optimal locations using VA SCI/D centers and spokes. This section further requires the VA to commence, not later than 120 days after enactment, a pilot program to provide such access at no fewer than three VA medical facilities. This section requires the VA, not later than one year after enactment, to submit a report to the committees on plan implementation, initial pilot results, and plans to expand the programs to additional facilities to meet demand for specialized SCI/D treatment.

This section redesignates 38 U.S.C. §1167, relating to mental health consultations for veterans receiving compensation under chapter 11 of title 38, U.S. Code, for service-connected disabilities relating to mental health diagnoses (i.e., offers of consultations to assess needs and discuss care options), as §1169 (with conforming amendments to the table of contents at the beginning of chapter 11) and makes the following changes: (1) retitles subsection (a) as "Initial mental health consultations"; (2) requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to offer such a consultation, and conduct outreach on its availability and other Department mental health services, to each such veteran not less frequently than once each year; (3) extends existing outreach provisions to cover the new annual requirements; (4) clarifies that such consultations do not create entitlement to compensation or require reevaluation of any existing entitlement; and (5) requires biennial reviews of outreach efficacy (covering veteran feedback, consultations sought, and deterrents), with associated reports to the congressional Committees on Veterans' Affairs starting one year after enactment of the BRAVE Act of 2025.

This section directs the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs and Defense to jointly submit to the Senate and House Committees on Veterans’ Affairs, not later than 180 days after enactment, a report on actions taken or planned to improve the effectiveness of VA and DoD programs promoting access to mental health services for members of the Armed Forces transitioning to civilian life. The report must (1) assess the status of responses to recommendations in the Comptroller General’s July 2024 report entitled “DOD AND VA HEALTH CARE: Actions Needed to Better Facilitate Access to Mental Health Services During Military to Civilian Transitions” (GAO–24–106189); and (2) identify duplicative efforts or service gaps and recommend program changes, including legislative action.