Kiggans Secures Sailor Standard of Care Act Provisions in Annual Defense Package

Jun 21, 2023
Armed Forces
Press

WASHINGTON, DC: Today, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) successfully amended the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to include provisions of her Sailor Standard of Care Act. Kiggans introduced this important, bipartisan legislation in May to improve mental healthcare for the men and women serving in the United States Navy. 

“The rising number of sailors who continue to die by suicide should make it abundantly clear for anyone to see that we MUST do better for those serving our great nation,” said Congresswoman Kiggans. “I’m proud that my colleagues from both sides of the aisle supported my effort to include critical mental health provisions from the Sailor Standard of Care Act in our nation’s most important defense bill. But our work is not done. I am going to fight to ensure these provisions are included in the final version that passes both the House and the Senate so they can be signed into law by the President. We must ensure the Navy is providing the resources and quality of life each and every sailor deserves.”

“Since day one, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans has fought to improve the quality of life for our servicemembers and their families,” Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) said. “She is a proven leader who has worked tirelessly to ensure the FY24 NDAA boosts our national defense and puts our servicemembers first.” 

Specifically, the provisions of the Sailor Standard of Care Act that were included in the FY24 NDAA would:

  • Require the Navy to study the feasibility of constructing and managing a dashboard to track quality of life programs and their utilization rate. The quality-of-life issues tracked by this dashboard would include childcare, healthcare, education, housing, and spouse employment. 
  • Examine reimbursement rates for mental healthcare providers under TRICARE, the number of current and projected mental healthcare providers under TRICARE, and assess what, if any, additional authorities and resources are needed to effectively provide timely access to mental healthcare.
  • Require the Secretary of the Navy to provide a briefing to the committee on the average number of days it takes for the Department of the Navy to separate with limited duty sailors after it is determined the sailors are too medically separated.
  • Require the Secretary of the Navy to brief the House Armed Services Committee on its recommended standard operating procedures for responding to multiple suicides.
  • Requires the Secretary of the Navy to provide the committee a briefing on the feasibility of providing additional mental health resources to units with greater than 15 limited duty sailors and on the feasibility of mandatory mental health screenings for limited duty sailors. 

The House Armed Services Committee continues to amend the FY24 NDAA, with expected passage of the legislation occurring later this evening or early tomorrow morning. 

###

Recent Posts


Sep 12, 2024
Press

Kiggans Supports Bipartisan Bill to Address Childcare Workforce Shortage

WASHINGTON, DC: Today, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) announced her cosponsorship of H.R. 7355, the Early Childhood Workforce Advancement Act. This bipartisan legislation aims to address the ongoing workforce shortage that has contributed to the skyrocketing cost of childcare services. Specifically, the bill would invest in career and technical education (CTE) programs and incentivize more students to enter the early childhood workforce upon graduation. […]



Sep 10, 2024
Press

Kiggans Visits Achievable Dream Academy, Presents $1.9M in Federal Funding to Support Students

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: Last week, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) visited An Achievable Dream Academy at Seatack Elementary School to present $1,961,000 in federal dollars she secured for the program in the Fiscal Year 2024 government funding bills. This funding will ensure An Achievable Dream, a K-12 program that provides high-quality, cost-effective education services to high-risk youth and […]



Sep 5, 2024
Press

Kiggans Announces $2.4M Federal Grant to Support Alzheimer’s and Dementia Patients

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: Today, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) announced a $2,498,470 grant awarded to Nasoni, LLC by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The grant, which will be awarded over a two-year period in increments of $1,249,235, will go towards advancing Nasoni’s cutting edge research to support Azheimer’s and dementia patients. Specifically, […]