BRANDON ACT TO CHANGE DOD MENTAL HEALTH POLICY, PAY TRIBUTE TO FALLEN NAVY SAILOR BRANDON CASERTA PASSES IN SENATE; HEADS TO PRESIDENT'S DES

Press Release

Today, Representative Seth Moulton (D-MA) and Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) announced that the Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that included the Brandon Act, legislation named in honor of fallen United States Navy Petty Officer Third Class Brandon Caserta. The bill is now headed to President Biden's desk.

The Brandon Act is designed to protect service members who experience mental health emergencies and reduce the stigma around reporting. This bill will allow service members to seek mental health treatment, and require a mental health evaluation as soon as a service member self-reports. It will also allow Americans serving in uniform to seek help confidentially and, if necessary, outside of the chain of command.

Representative Seth Moulton, the bill's author, said: "America's service members shouldn't have to settle for a broken system that's incapable of providing them with the mental health support they need, and today's vote means they no longer have to. This bill is an important piece of Brandon's legacy--one that will save the lives of so many great American heroes. I'm proud of his parents for fighting to make sure that families of other service members never have to share their experience, and I look forward to continuing to do this work alongside them."

Senator Mark Kelly said: "For months, I worked with Republicans and Democrats to get the language of the Brandon Act in the defense bill. Today, our hard work has paid off. Thanks to the tireless advocacy of Teri and Patrick Caserta, and bipartisan support in Congress, our efforts will help us confront military suicide head on and save the lives of other young servicemembers."

Brandon Caserta died by suicide on June 25, 2018 on the flight line at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. After his death, his parents and friends discovered six notes in which Brandon attributed his suicide to persistent hazing and bullying from some members and leaders of his Navy helicopter squadron.

The Brandon Act expands the existing law that regulates how service members are referred for mental health evaluations, in order to provide a confidential channel for service members to self-report mental health issues. The process would protect the confidentiality of service members, similar to the restricted reporting option that protects victims of sexual assault. Moulton first introduced the bill in 2020, and he secured passage of it as part of the House version of the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act. But, the bill was removed during negotiations between the House and Senate.

Moulton has made expanding mental health care and breaking the stigma around seeking help a top priority since disclosing in 2019 that he is managing post-traumatic stress from his service in Iraq as a United States Marine. In addition to The Brandon Act, Moulton successfully used the FY20 NDAA to secure mandatory mental health checkups for service members who served in combat within 21 days of their departure from the battlefield.

Moulton also co-led the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, which was signed into law last October. The new law means 9-8-8 will become the three-digit number for mental health emergencies nationwide by July 2022.

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