# 119-s-5591: Veterans Crisis Line Support and Safety Act of 2026

119-s-5591, Veterans Crisis Line Support and Safety Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-16).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5591
- As of: 2026-10-16
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5591
- Congress: 119
- Title: Veterans Crisis Line Support and Safety Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-09-29
- Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-16

## Summary

**Guarantees confidential, no-cost mental health care for Veterans Crisis Line responders.** It would also require occupational safeguards and staffing rules to reduce burnout and manage abusive non-crisis contacts. - Covered personnel would get on-duty access to individual counseling and mental health care from licensed providers experienced in PTSD and trauma, plus peer support, critical incident stress debriefing, and annual resiliency and burnout prevention training. Use of these services would not hurt employment status, performance evaluations, or career advancement. - Workplace rules would require reasonable workload and shift limits, mandatory rest after high-risk interactions, and that staff handle only one case at a time. The VA would use software to predict call patterns, assign specialized staff for complex cases, and offer voluntary overtime during high contact volume. - The VA would set procedures to identify and manage repeated non-crisis or abusive contacts, including warnings, call handling restrictions, and dedicated disruptive caller units with trauma-informed training while preserving access for bona fide crises. - The Comptroller General must review implementation within one year and report to congressional veterans committees on use of services, staffing, scheduling, turnover, overtime, workforce retention, and the effectiveness of abusive-contact policies. The review must protect personal privacy and have access to needed information and personnel.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] (R-AR), 2026-09-29T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Free confidential mental care for staff: benefit, medium. If enacted, the VA would provide covered Veterans Crisis Line employees and contractors confidential mental health and wellness services at no cost. Services would include individual counseling, peer support, critical incident stress debriefing, and resiliency and burnout-prevention training at lea…
- Workload and scheduling limits for staff: benefit, medium. If enacted, the VA would have to set policies that limit workload and shift length for covered Veterans Crisis Line staff. The VA would require rest and recovery periods after high-risk or traumatic interactions and would ensure staff handle only one case at a time, including digital contacts. The…
- Limits on abusive hotline callers: mixed, low. If enacted, the VA would create procedures to identify patterns of non-crisis or abusive contacts that materially interfere with the Veterans Crisis Line mission. The VA would be able to give verbal or written warnings, limit how it handles repeated misuse, refer callers to other resources, and ree…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5526: Agricultural Act of 2026
- 119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-s-5238: For Our Republic Act
- 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026
- 119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act
- 119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act

## Sources
- [119-s-5591 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5591)

## Related
- [119-s-5526: Agricultural Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5526)
- [119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4744)
- [119-s-5238: For Our Republic Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5238)
- [119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071)
- [119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2838)
- [119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2819)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5591 (as of 2026-10-16).