releases: https://www.donnelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press/donnelly-wicker-sexton-act-will-soon-be-law
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.donnelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press/donnelly-wicker-sexton-act-will-soon-be-law | Donnelly, Wicker: ‘Sexton Act will soon be law’ | 2014-12-12 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Democrat | House | IN | Joe Donnelly | D000607 | www.donnelly.senate.gov | legacy | Donnelly, Wicker: ‘Sexton Act will soon be law’ Senate passes Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act as part of national defense bill Friday, December 12, 2014 Washington, D.C. —U.S. Senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) welcomed the Senate passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) today with support from both parties. The national defense bill includes their Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act of 2014, which would require an annual mental health assessment for all servicemembers. The bill now heads to President Obama to be signed into law. Donnelly said, “This is outstanding news: the Jacob Sexton Act will soon be law. After nearly two years of working on this effort with Jacob’s parents Jeff and Barb, we will honor the memory of Jacob by positively impacting servicemembers’ lives. This common sense change will ensure we are focused not only on our Armed Forces’ physical readiness but also mental readiness. We make strides in the effort to reduce the stigma of seeking help—truly, it is a sign of strength. We accomplished this with strong bipartisan support, and I thank my friend, Senator Wicker, for working with me to get this done.” Wicker said, “The ‘Jacob Sexton Act’ will provide our service members with an array of new tools to get the mental health services they need and deserve. We must address this growing problem before it gets any worse. Too many American families will celebrate this holiday season without their loved ones. I am proud to be a part of this effort.” The Sexton Act will: Require annual mental health assessments for all servicemembers—Active, Reserve, and Guard. 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. Maintain strong privacy protections for servicemembers. We must ensure that seeking help remains a sign of strength by protecting the privacy of the servicemember coming forward. The privacy of servicemembers would be ensured by guaranteeing medical privacy protections for these mental health assessments. Require 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. Specialist 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. 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. Jeff emailed the senator’s office about his and his wife Barb’s personal experience with military suicide, losing their son Jacob. Jeff wrote in his email, “I’m willing to help any way I can.” Senator Donnelly called Jeff, and with his and Barn’s blessing, they worked together on legislation named after Jacob that aims to help end the scourge of military suicide. For more information on the Sexton Act, visit: https://www.donnelly.senate.gov/Jacob-Sexton-Act ### Press Contact Donnelly_Press@Donnelly.Senate.Gov | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |