{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.donnelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press/donnelly-sexton-act-is-law", "Donnelly: ‘Sexton Act is Law’", "2014-12-19", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "IN", "Joe Donnelly", "D000607", "www.donnelly.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Donnelly: \u2018Sexton Act is Law\u2019\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPresident Obama signs Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act into law as part of annual national defense bill\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tFriday, December 19, 2014\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tIndianapolis, Ind. \u2014U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly welcomed his signature legislation, the Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act of 2014, being signed into law today by President Obama as part of the national defense bill.\u00a0 The Sexton Act requires an annual mental health assessment for all servicemembers. \u00a0\r\n\r\nDonnelly and the Sextons in Indianapolis today\r\nDonnelly said, \u201cToday, we honor the memory of a young man who was taken from us too soon.\u00a0 In remembering Jacob, we seek to prevent another servicemember\u2019s family from experiencing the tragedy of suicide.\u00a0 I have worked alongside Jacob\u2019s parents, Jeff and Barb, for two years now, and their strength continues to inspire my work.\u00a0 Starting next year, every servicemember\u2014Active Duty, Guard, or Reserve\u2014will receive an annual mental health assessment.\u00a0 Also, we will evaluate which prevention or intervention programs are working in hopes of future expansion.\u00a0 I am grateful for the support of many individuals who and organizations that stood with me throughout this effort, but most of all for Jeff and Barb, who continue to share their story to help prevent future tragedies.\u201d\r\nJeff Sexton said, \"The day they passed the bill would have been Jacob\u2019s 27th birthday. And I can\u2019t think of a better birthday present for him or a better Christmas present for all the men and women and their families in the military that suffer every day from PTSD, head injuries, any kind of mental illness. And hopefully this may change the stigma and bring out the help that our men and women need.\u201d\u00a0\r\nThe Sexton Act will:\r\n \r\nRequire annual mental health assessments for all servicemembers\u2014Active, Reserve, and Guard.\u00a0 Right now, the best and most consistent screening is happening only for those within the deployment cycle which can leave non-deployed members of the Active, Reserve, and Guard components underserved.\r\nMaintain strong privacy protections for servicemembers. \u00a0We must ensure that seeking help remains a sign of strength by protecting the privacy of the servicemember coming forward.\u00a0 The privacy of servicemembers would be ensured by guaranteeing medical privacy protections for these mental health assessments.\r\nRequire a Pentagon report to evaluate existing military mental health practices and provide recommendations for improvement. This report, which is due to Congress within a year of enactment of the bill, would help identify which programs are working and which need to be fixed. A specific focus of the report will be identifying successful peer-to-peer programs that address the need for a more bottom-up approach to identifying warning signs and combatting stigma in each of the Services, with the intention of future expansion.\r\n \r\nSpecialist Jacob Sexton was a member of the Indiana Nation Guard from Farmland, Indiana. Jacob took his own life at the age of 21 in a Muncie movie theater while home on a 15-day leave from Afghanistan.\u00a0 In early 2013, Jeff Sexton heard Senator Donnelly talk about the need to improve efforts to prevent military suicide during a Senate Armed Services hearing.\u00a0 Jeff emailed the senator\u2019s office about his and his wife Barb\u2019s personal experience with military suicide, losing their son Jacob. Jeff wrote in his email, \u201cI\u2019m willing to help any way I can.\u201d\u00a0 Senator Donnelly called Jeff, and with his and Barb\u2019s blessing, they worked together on legislation named after Jacob that aims to help end the scourge of military suicide.\r\nFor more information on the Sexton Act, visit: https://www.donnelly.senate.gov/Jacob-Sexton-Act\u00a0\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\t\tDonnelly_Press@Donnelly.Senate.Gov", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.donnelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press/donnelly-sexton-act-is-law"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6335419602692127, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}