BRAVE Act of 2025
BRAVE Act of 2025
Plain Language Summary
# BRAVE Act of 2025 Summary The BRAVE Act (Building Resources and Access for Veterans' Mental Health Engagement Act) is a bill designed to improve mental health services for veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs. If passed, it would allow the VA more flexibility in hiring mental health counselors by temporarily waiving certain licensing requirements when needed. The bill also expands the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program and increases the maximum funding available for these grants, which support suicide prevention efforts for veterans. Additionally, the bill requires Vet Centers—specialized VA facilities that provide counseling and support services—to better identify and address barriers that prevent veterans from accessing care.
The legislation aims to improve outreach efforts and help Vet Center staff provide services more effectively. Overall, the bill targets veterans' mental health access and suicide prevention as key priorities. **Current Status:** The bill is currently in committee and has not yet been voted on by the full House of Representatives.
CRS Official Summary
Building Resources and Access for Veterans' Mental Health Engagement Act of 2025 or the BRAVE Act of 2025This bill addresses mental health services and care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including matters related to personnel, Vet Center administration, care for women veterans, and access to care.The bill authorizes the VA to waive the licensure or certification requirement for individual licensed professional mental health counselor appointees for a reasonable period of time.The bill also extends the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program and increases the maximum annual grant amount.The VA must provide Vet Centers with guidance for assessing outreach activities and implement processes to periodically assess the extent to which (1) veterans and eligible members of the Armed Forces experience barriers to obtaining services at Vet Centers, and (2) Vet Center staff may encounter barriers to providing services.Among other requirements, the VA must alsosurvey and host listening sessions with women veterans to gauge the effectiveness of the VA’s suicide prevention, lethal-means safety, and mental health resources and messaging campaigns;initiate efforts to modify the Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health-Veterans Enhanced Treatment (REACH VET) program to incorporate risk factors weighted for women;annually offer a mental health consultation to veterans who are receiving compensation for a service-connected disability relating to a mental health diagnosis; andimplement a pilot program to provide access to mental health residential treatment programs for veterans with a spinal cord injury or disorder.
Latest Action
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.