Veterans’ Sentinel Act

Annual Evaluations and Recommendations: Under Section 2(a), the Secretary is required to annually evaluate statistical trends of suicides and attempted suicides by veterans on Department property and determine recommendations for preventing them. This is positive because it forces officials to regularly look at these tragedies and figure out ways to stop them.

Establishment of a Working Group: Under Section 2(b)(1), the Secretary must establish a working group to collect and analyze data regarding on-campus suicides and attempted suicides. This is a positive step to ensure dedicated focus on understanding why these incidents happen.

Data Collection Improvements: Under Section 2(b)(3), the working group must consider and may implement improvements to unify disparate sources of data by modifying incident reports, ensuring specified sections for on-campus incidents exist, and developing a management system to consolidate relevant data. This could benefit individuals by fixing broken data systems so officials have clear information.

Congressional Oversight and Briefings: Under Section 2(b)(4) and Section 2(b)(5), the Secretary must provide annual briefings and a final report to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate. This holds the Department accountable to elected officials and the public regarding their progress.