PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jan 3, 2025
Veteran Overmedication and Suicide Prevention Act of 2025
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to report on the deaths of covered veterans who died by suicide during the last five years, regardless of whether information relating to such deaths has been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A covered veteran is any veteran who received VA hospital care or medical services during the five-year period preceding the veteran's death.
Among other elements, the report shall include the total number of covered veterans who died by suicide, violent death, or accidental death, as well as certain demographic information.
People & committees
Rep. Buchanan, Vern [R-FL-16] · R–FL
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Jan 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-01-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to seek an independent review of suicides among veterans who recently received VA care. The review would also examine violent and accidental deaths, medications, treatment choices, mental health staffing, and death records. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine would conduct the review, and VA would publish its results. These are proposed review and reporting requirements.
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under which the National Academies shall conduct a review of the deaths of all covered veterans who died by suicide
(B) The total number of covered veterans who died by a violent death during such five-year period. (C) The total number of covered veterans who died by an accidental death during such five-year period.
(M) A description of the efforts of the Department to maintain appropriate staffing levels for mental health professionals
(S) A description of how data relating to death certificates of veterans is collected, determined, and reported by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(I) With respect to the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, or other anxiety and depressive disorders, the percentage of covered veterans described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) who received a non-medication first-line treatment compared to the percentage of such veterans who received medication only.
(2) make such report publicly available.
Section 1 gives the proposal the short title “Veteran Overmedication and Suicide Prevention Act of 2025.”
This Act may be cited as the Veteran Overmedication and Suicide Prevention Act of 2025.
Within 90 days after enactment, VA would have to seek an agreement with the National Academies. The review would cover suicides during the five years ending on enactment, whether or not the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had reported information about those deaths. The deadline requires VA to seek an agreement; it does not require a signed agreement within 90 days.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under which the National Academies shall conduct a review of the deaths of all covered veterans who died by suicide during the five-year period ending on the date of the enactment of this Act, regardless of whether information relating to such deaths has been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The review would cover veterans who received VA-furnished hospital care or medical services during the five years before their deaths.
The term covered veteran means a veteran who received hospital care or medical services furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs during the five-year period preceding the death of the veteran.
The review would count covered veterans who died by suicide, violent death, or accidental death during the five-year review period. It would describe each veteran's age, gender, race, and ethnicity.
(A) The total number of covered veterans who died by suicide during the five-year period ending on the date of the enactment of this Act. (B) The total number of covered veterans who died by a violent death during such five-year period. (C) The total number of covered veterans who died by an accidental death during such five-year period. (D) A description of each covered veteran described in subparagraphs (A) through (C), including age, gender, race, and ethnicity.
For those deaths, the review would list prescribed medications and legal or illegal substances recorded in toxicology reports. It would specifically identify medications with serious-risk boxed warnings, off-label prescriptions, psychotropic medications, and warnings about suicidal thoughts. The bill defines a boxed warning as a label warning drawing attention to a serious or life-threatening drug risk.
(E) A comprehensive list of prescribed medications and legal or illegal substances as annotated on toxicology reports of covered veterans described in subparagraphs (A) through (C), specifically listing any medications that carried a black box warning, were prescribed for off-label use, were psychotropic, or carried warnings that included suicidal ideation.
The term black box warning means a warning displayed on the label of a prescription drug that is designed to call attention to the serious or life-threatening risk of the prescription drug.
The review would summarize diagnoses that led VA physicians or physicians working through VA programs to prescribe the listed medications for post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, and other anxiety and depressive disorders.
(F) A summary of medical diagnoses by physicians of the Department of Veterans Affairs or physicians providing services to covered veterans through programs of the Department that led to the prescribing of medications referred to in subparagraph (E) in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, and other anxiety and depressive disorders.
The review would count instances of veterans taking multiple medications at the same time, prescribed through VA for the listed conditions or coexisting conditions. It would separately count veterans who were taking no medication prescribed by a VA physician or a physician working through a VA program; that count would not necessarily mean they took no medication from other sources.
(G) The number of instances in which a covered veteran described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) was concurrently on multiple medications prescribed by physicians of the Department or physicians providing services to veterans through programs of the Department to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, other anxiety and depressive disorders, or instances of comorbidity.
(H) The number of covered veterans described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) who were not taking any medication prescribed by a physician of the Department or a physician providing services to veterans through a program of the Department.
For the listed conditions, the review would compare the percentages receiving highly rated non-medication treatments and medication alone. It would also count cases where a non-medication treatment, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, was tried, found ineffective, and followed by a listed medication. The bill defines a first-line treatment as an intervention evaluated and given a high score in clinical practice guidelines.
(I) With respect to the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, or other anxiety and depressive disorders, the percentage of covered veterans described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) who received a non-medication first-line treatment compared to the percentage of such veterans who received medication only.
(J) With respect to the treatment of covered veterans described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) for post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, or other anxiety and depressive disorders, the number of instances in which a non-medication first-line treatment (such as cognitive behavioral therapy) was attempted and determined to be ineffective for such a veteran, which subsequently led to the prescribing of a medication referred to in subparagraph (E).
The term first-line treatment means a potential intervention that has been evaluated and assigned a high score within clinical practice guidelines.
The review would describe how VA develops and updates prescribing guidelines. It would examine VA's systematic use of pain scores under its Pain as the 5th Vital Sign Toolkit and evaluate their relationship to veterans taking multiple VA-prescribed medications at once. This is a required investigation, not a finding that pain scoring causes multiple-medication use.
(K) A description and example of how the Department determines and continually updates the clinical practice guidelines governing the prescribing of medications.
(L) An analysis of the use by the Department, including protocols or practices at medical facilities of the Department, of systematically measuring pain scores during clinical encounters under the Pain as the 5th Vital Sign Toolkit of the Department and an evaluation of the relationship between the use of such measurements and the number of veterans concurrently on multiple medications prescribed by physicians of the Department.
The staffing review would examine barriers to educating, training, and hiring mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists, along with strategies to address them. It would assess VA's plans to increase their representation, compare professional eligibility criteria, examine trainee-program participation, and assess hiring guidelines.
(i) a description of any impediments to carry out the education, training, and hiring of mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists under section 7302(a) of title 38, United States Code, and strategies for addressing those impediments;
(ii) a description of the objectives, goals, and timing of the Department with respect to increasing the representation of such counselors and therapists in the behavioral health workforce of the Department, including— (I) a review of eligibility criteria for such counselors and therapists and a comparison of such criteria to that of other behavioral health professions in the Department; and (II) an assessment of the participation of such counselors and therapists in the mental health professionals trainee program of the Department and any impediments to such participation;
(iii) an assessment of the development by the Department of hiring guidelines for mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and other appropriate counselors;
The review would describe how VA identifies mental health staffing gaps and determines staffing ratios. It would also describe actions and timing for creating a federal job classification for counselors and marriage and family therapists, and actions to ensure their professional standards boards and VA liaison consist of those professionals. These are subjects to be reviewed, rather than separate commands in this bill to create positions or reconstitute boards.
(iv) a description of how the Department— (I) identifies gaps in the supply of mental health professionals; and (II) determines successful staffing ratios for mental health professionals of the Department;
(v) a description of actions taken by the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, to create an occupational series for mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists of the Department and a timeline for the creation of such an occupational series;
(vi) a description of actions taken by the Secretary to ensure that the national, regional, and local professional standards boards for mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists are comprised of only mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists and that the liaison from the Department to such boards is a mental health counselor or marriage and family therapist.
The review would report the percentage of veterans in the death groups with combat experience or combat-related trauma, using the categories stated in the bill. It would identify VA facilities with markedly high prescription rates and suicide rates among veterans treated there.
(N) The percentage of covered veterans described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) with combat experience or trauma related to combat experience (including military sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury, and post-traumatic stress).
(O) An identification of the medical facilities of the Department with markedly high prescription rates and suicide rates for veterans receiving treatment at those facilities.
A state-by-state analysis would examine VA collaboration with Medicaid agencies and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It would cover prescription and behavioral health data sharing, checks of state prescription-monitoring programs, coordination with outside prescribers to prevent overprescribing, and VA's response when overprescribing is identified. For this analysis, “State” includes U.S. territories and possessions, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
(P) An analysis, by State, of programs of the Department that collaborate with State Medicaid agencies and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, including the following: (i) An analysis of the sharing of prescription and behavioral health data for veterans. (ii) An analysis of whether Department staff check with State prescription drug monitoring programs before prescribing medications to veterans. (iii) A description of the procedures of the Department for coordinating with prescribers outside of the Department to ensure that veterans are not overprescribed. (iv) A description of actions that the Department takes when a veteran is determined to be overprescribed.
The term State means each of the States, territories, and possessions of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
The review would examine how VA medical centers work with medical examiners and local jurisdictions to establish deaths and their causes. It would identify a best-practice model for sharing death-certificate data among VA, the Department of Defense, states, and tribal entities, and describe VA's collection and reporting of that information.
(Q) An analysis of the collaboration of medical centers of the Department with medical examiners’ offices or local jurisdictions to determine veteran mortality and cause of death. (R) An identification and determination of a best practice model to collect and share veteran death certificate data between the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, States, and tribal entities. (S) A description of how data relating to death certificates of veterans is collected, determined, and reported by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The National Academies would assess patterns apparent from the review and include recommendations for further action that it considers appropriate to improve veterans' safety and well-being. The provision requests recommendations; it does not establish their effectiveness.
(T) An assessment of any patterns apparent to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine based on the review conducted under paragraph (1). (U) Such recommendations for further action that would improve the safety and well-being of veterans as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determine appropriate.
VA would have to ensure that the data can be analyzed across all fields to inform and update clinical practice guidelines. Data for the suicide, violent-death, and accidental-death groups would be compiled separately and broken down by year.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that data compiled under paragraph (2) is compiled in a manner that allows it to be analyzed across all data fields for purposes of informing and updating clinical practice guidelines of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In compiling data under paragraph (2) regarding covered veterans described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of such paragraph, data regarding veterans described in each such subparagraph shall be compiled separately and disaggregated by year.
The agreement would have to require the National Academies to finish the review and deliver its report to VA within 180 days after the agreement is entered into. This deadline runs from the agreement, not enactment.
The agreement entered into under paragraph (1) shall require that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine complete the review under such paragraph and submit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs a report containing the results of the review not later than 180 days after entering into the agreement.
Within 30 days after the review is completed, VA would have to submit a report on its results to the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees and make that report public.
Not later than 30 days after the completion by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine of the review required under subsection (a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— (1) submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the results of the review; and (2) make such report publicly available.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated January 8, 2026, records introduction and referral to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs on January 3, 2025, followed by referral to the Subcommittee on Health on February 3, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2026-01-08T09:06:33Z. 2025-02-03: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. 2025-01-03: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. 2025-01-03: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-01-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy rider was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion applies only to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending earmark was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; formal earmark status cannot be established without potentially relevant accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow benefit, exemption, or preferential treatment beyond administration of the proposed review was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion applies only to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
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