S. 609 — 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 Senate and House Committees on Veterans’ Affairs a report on market pay surveys reviewed by the Chief Readjustment Counseling Officer in each Readjustment Counseling Service (RCS) district—which provide readjustment counseling to veterans at Vet Centers—for positions including licensed professional mental health counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists. The report must (1) assess pay disparities between RCS employees and similarly situated employees within VA and the private sector; (2) identify any pay-related staffing challenges and, if so, whether each affected RCS district has initiated a review of third-party survey data for the identified occupations; and (3) incorporate data from all RCS districts, including geographically diverse areas, rural areas, highly rural areas, urban areas, and areas with health care shortages. Pay assessments must consider third-party survey data, geographic location, equivalent qualifications (i.e., licensure, education level, or experience), and short-term incentives.

This section revises Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) appointment qualifications under 38 U.S.C. § 7402(b) for mental health support occupations as follows: (1) for psychologists, it replaces the fixed waiver period with a reasonable period of time recommended by the Under Secretary for Health; and (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. (Thus, these changes increase hiring flexibility for VA mental health providers.)

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to the Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs, not later than 60 days after enactment, a report on coordination between the clinical care system of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and the Readjustment Counseling Service (RCS) of the Department of Veterans Affairs. (As background, RCS operates Vet Centers to provide readjustment counseling and outreach services—separate from VHA medical care—to veterans, particularly combat veterans and those 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 staff at nearby VA medical facilities, (B) each medical facility's external clinical consultant and suicide prevention coordinator provides counseling staff at local Vet Centers with professional consultation at least monthly (via onsite peer case presentations, virtual, or telephone), particularly for high-risk patients, (C) such consultations are documented, and (D) the Under Secretary for Health coordinates with each Vet Center's outreach specialist to inform active duty Armed Forces members in the Department of Defense's Transition Assistance Program about Vet Center services.

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to submit to the congressional veterans' affairs committees, not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, a report assessing the Readjustment Counseling Service model used by the Department of Veterans Affairs to guide expansion of the Vet Centers' real property footprint (i.e., physical locations providing readjustment counseling to veterans, service members, and families for issues such as PTSD and military sexual trauma). The report shall 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 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 Armed Forces members in assessed areas.

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, not later than 180 days after the date of enactment, to (1) ensure each Vet Center has demographic data—such as age, gender, race, and ethnicity—for individuals eligible for Vet Center services (i.e., counseling for readjustment from military service) in the service area of such Vet Center, including recently transitioned veterans, to tailor outreach activities; (2) provide Vet Centers with guidance for assessing the effectiveness of outreach activities, 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 obtaining Vet Center services, such as 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 to the congressional veterans' affairs committees, not later than 60 days after enactment, a report on the Department's plans for RCSNet—the current information technology platform used by the Readjustment Counseling Service (RCS), which provides readjustment counseling services (e.g., for PTSD and other transition issues) to veterans at Vet Centers. The report must identify (1) whether the Department is retaining or replacing RCSNet; (2) if retaining it, the rationale and steps with timeline to maintain or improve functionality; and (3) if replacing it, 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 diverse demographics—including different ages, eras of service, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and geographical areas—to assess (1) the perception and acceptance of VA suicide prevention, lethal-means safety, and mental health resources and messaging campaigns by women veterans; (2) their effectiveness and tailoring to women veterans; (3) potential improvements from integrating information on military sexual trauma, intimate partner violence, and trauma-informed health care; (4) additional enhancements to those resources and campaigns, including the Women’s Health Transition Training Program; and (5) the targeting of VA programs and services to women veterans of varying demographics. 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 requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, not later than 60 days after enactment, to initiate efforts to modify the Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health–Veterans Enhanced Treatment program (REACH VET)—VA's suicide prevention program that uses predictive modeling to identify veterans at elevated risk of suicide—to incorporate risk factors weighted for women veterans, such as 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 provision of such services should be increased and made permanent, including for those categories.

This section modifies the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program by (1) increasing the maximum amount of each grant to $1,000,000 (from $750,000); and (2) extending the program's duration to six years (from three years). (The program authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to award competitive grants to eligible private entities to assist veterans at risk of suicide and their family members or caregivers.)

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 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 ensure adequate staffing for these veterans' needs, (2) an assessment of medical equipment needs, and (3) an assessment of optimal delivery locations using SCI/D centers and spokes. This section requires the Secretary 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 further requires the Secretary, 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 this specialized treatment.

This section redesignates 38 U.S.C. §1167, relating to mental health consultations offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to veterans receiving compensation for service-connected mental health disabilities, as §1169 and makes conforming changes to the table of sections. The section further amends §1169 (as redesignated) to (1) revise the heading of subsection (a) to "Initial mental health consultations"; (2) add a new subsection (b) requiring the Secretary, not less frequently than once each year, to offer such veterans a mental health consultation to assess needs and discuss care options and to conduct outreach on those consultations and other VA mental health services; (3) update cross-references in subsection (c) to include subsection (b); (4) clarify in subsection (d) that the consultations do not require reevaluation of compensation entitlements; and (5) add subsection (e) requiring biennial reviews of outreach efficacy—covering veteran feedback mechanisms, consultations sought, and deterrents—with reports to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees on findings and plans, beginning one year after enactment of the BRAVE Act of 2025.

This section directs the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs and Defense, not later than 180 days after enactment, to jointly submit to the congressional Veterans' Affairs Committees a report on actions taken or planned—independently or jointly—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.