BRAVE Act of 2025

The BRAVE Act of 2025 would enhance mental health services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill would allow the VA to temporarily waive certain licensing requirements for mental health counselors to help address staffing challenges. It would also extend and increase funding for the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, which supports suicide prevention efforts for veterans.

The legislation would require the VA to improve how Vet Centers (VA counseling facilities) operate and reach veterans. This includes assessing barriers that prevent veterans from accessing services and identifying challenges staff face in providing care. The bill would also direct the VA to conduct surveys and listening sessions with women veterans to better understand the effectiveness of current mental health and suicide prevention resources, and to modify existing programs to better address risk factors specific to women veterans.

Additionally, the bill would require the VA to offer annual mental health consultations to veterans receiving disability compensation for mental health conditions and would establish a pilot program to provide residential mental health treatment for veterans with spinal cord injuries or disorders. These provisions would take effect only if the bill is passed by Congress and signed into law.