PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jun 17, 2009
Kyle Barthel Veterans and Service Members Mental Health Screening Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to ensure that each member of the Armed Forces on active duty is required to participate in confidential, in-person screenings for mental health conditions by a licensed mental health professional to reduce the prevalence of suicide among service members, future veterans, and veterans.
Prohibits the Secretary from using the results of such a screening to prohibit a member from returning to the United States, prohibit a member from being discharged from the Armed Forces, or involuntarily discharge a member.
Directs the Secretary to require that each member on active duty is screened for a traumatic brain injury by a licensed professional who is qualified to conduct such screening.
Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a joint protocol to share existing and future reports concerning screenings conducted under this Act to help aid members and veterans who are transitioning from receiving health care and treatment through the Department of Defense to receiving such care and services through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
People & committees
Rep. Teague, Harry [D-NM-2] · D–NM
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 Military Personnel.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Referred to House Veterans' Affairs
Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to House Armed Services
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.2931 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.2931 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.2931 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.2931 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.