COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR MEMBERS SEPARATING FROM THE ARMED FORCES.

SEC. 598. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR MEMBERS SEPARATING FROM THE ARMED FORCES.(a) Report Required.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report evaluating the programs of the Department of Defense and other Federal agencies under which transition assistance is provided to members of the Armed Forces who are separating from active duty service.(b) Elements of Report.—(1) With regard to the transition assistance programs under section 1142 and 1144 of title 10, United States Code, the report required by subsection (a) shall include—(A) an analysis of the extent to which such programs are meeting the current needs of members of the Armed Forces as they are discharged or released from active duty;(B) a discussion of the original purposes of the programs;(C) a discussion of how the programs are currently being administered in relationship to those purposes;(D) an assessment of whether the programs are adequate to meet the current needs of members of the reserve components; and(E) such recommendations as the Comptroller General considers appropriate for improving such programs, including any recommendation regarding whether participation by members of the Armed Forces in such programs should be required.(2) The report shall include an analysis of any differences among the Armed Forces and among the commands of military installations of the Armed Forces regarding how transition assistance is being provided under the transition assistance programs and such recommendations as the Comptroller General considers appropriate—(A) to achieve uniformity in the provision of assistance under such programs; and(B) to ensure that the transition assistance is provided under such programs to members of the Armed Forces who are being separated at medical facilities of the uniformed services or Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers and to Armed Forces personnel on a temporary disability retired list under section 1202 or 1205 of title 10, United States Code.(3) The report shall include—(A) an analysis of the relationship between the Department of Defense transition assistance programs and the transition assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Labor, including the relationship between the benefits delivery at discharge program carried out jointly by the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs and the other transition assistance programs; and(B) an assessment of the quality and thoroughness of information being provided during preseparation briefings under such transition assistance programs regarding the full range of benefits available to qualified members of the Armed Forces under programs operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the requirements for qualifying for those benefits.(4) The report shall specify the rates of participation of members of the Armed Forces in the transition assistance programs and include such recommendations as the Comptroller General considers 118 STAT. 1940 appropriate to increase such participation rates, including any recommendations regarding revisions of such programs that could result in increased participation by members.(5) The report shall include—(A) an assessment of whether the transition assistance information provided to members of the Armed Forces omits any transition information that would be beneficial to members;(B) an assessment of the extent to which information is provided under the transition assistance programs regarding participation in Federal procurement opportunities available at prime contract and subcontract levels to veterans with service-connected disabilities and other veterans; and(C) such recommendations as the Comptroller General considers appropriate regarding additional information that should be provided and any other recommendations that the Comptroller General considers appropriate for enhancing the provision of counseling on such procurement opportunities.(6) The report shall include—(A) an assessment of the extent to which representatives of military service organizations and veterans’ service organizations are afforded opportunities to participate, and do participate, in preseparation briefings under transition assistance programs;(B) an assessment of the effectiveness and usefulness of the role that military service organizations and veterans’ service organizations are playing in the preseparation briefing process; and(C) such recommendations as the Comptroller General considers appropriate regarding whether such organizations should be given a more formal role in the preseparation briefing process and how representatives of such organizations could better be used to disseminate transition assistance information and provide preseparation counseling to members of the Armed Forces, including members who are being released from active duty for continuation of service in a reserve component.(7) The report shall include an analysis of the use of post-deployment and predischarge health screenings and such recommendations as the Comptroller General considers appropriate regarding whether and how to integrate the health screening process and the transition assistance programs into a single, coordinated preseparation program for members of the Armed Forces being discharged or released from active duty.(8) The report shall include an analysis of the processes of the Armed Forces for conducting physical examinations of members of the Armed Forces in connection with discharge and release from active duty, including—(A) how post-deployment questionnaires are used;(B) the extent to which members of the Armed Forces waive the physical examinations; and(C) how, and the extent to which, members of the Armed Forces are referred for follow-up health care.(9) The report shall include a discussion of the current process by which mental health screenings are conducted, follow-up mental health care is provided for, and services are provided in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder and related conditions for members of the Armed Forces in connection with discharge and release from active duty, together with—118 STAT. 1941(A) for each of the Armed Forces, the programs that are in place to identify and treat cases of post-traumatic stress disorder and related conditions; and(B) for persons returning from deployments in connection with Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom—(i) the number of persons treated as a result of such screenings; and(ii) the types of interventions.(c) Acquisition of Supporting Information.—In preparing the report under subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall seek to obtain views from the following persons:(1) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretaries of the military departments.(2) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.(3) The Secretary of Labor.(4) Members of the Armed Forces who have received transition assistance under the programs covered by the report and members of the Armed Forces who have declined to accept transition assistance offered under such programs.(5) Representatives of military service organizations and representatives of veterans’ service organizations.(6) Persons having expertise in health care (including mental health care) provided under the Defense Health Program, including Department of Defense personnel, Department of Veterans Affairs personnel, and persons in the private sector.