Sponsors (2)
Last progress June 11, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on June 11, 2025 by Bill Cassidy
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent.
Designates the second Saturday in June as Veterans Get Outside Day and asks the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Forest Service, and the Department of the Interior to promote the day in coordination with the existing National Get Outdoors Day. The resolution highlights findings about veterans’ mental health, suicide risk, and the potential benefits of outdoor activities and green-space programs, and encourages federal agencies to coordinate outreach and promotion. No new programs, funding, or regulatory requirements are created.
Between 2000 and 2024, the Secretary of Defense found that more than 460,000 members of the Armed Forces were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries.
Studies have found that, after decades of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, 20 percent of veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress and depression.
The Department of Veterans Affairs found that veterans have a disproportionately higher rate of suicide than non-veterans, and identifies post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, depression, and anxiety as root causes; the preamble cites an estimated 17.6 veteran suicides per day in 2022.
Despite efforts by Congress and the Department of Veterans Affairs to reduce veteran suicides, gaps in mental health care for veterans remain, and the United States needs to use every available treatment to support the veteran community.
Studies show that exposure to nature and the outdoors can improve mental health by lowering risks of depression, improving focus and attention, and that even a single day outside can improve mood and reduce feelings of isolation.
Who is affected and how:
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