[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2345 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.2345
One Hundred Fifteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen
An Act
To require the Federal Communications Commission to study the
feasibility of designating a simple, easy-to-remember dialing code to be
used for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline
system.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Suicide Hotline Improvement
Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``Commission'' means the Federal Communications
Commission;
(2) the term ``covered dialing code'' means a simple, easy-to-
remember, 3-digit dialing code; and
(3) the term ``N11 dialing code'' means an abbreviated dialing
code consisting of 3 digits, of which--
(A) the first digit may be any digit other than ``1'' or
``0''; and
(B) each of the last 2 digits is ``1''.
SEC. 3. STUDIES AND REPORTS.
(a) Primary Study.--
(1) In general.--The Commission, in coordination with the
Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall conduct a study that--
(A) examines the feasibility of designating an N11 dialing
code or other covered dialing code to be used for a national
suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline system; and
(B) analyzes the effectiveness of the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline as of the date on which the study is
initiated, including how well the lifeline is working to
address the needs of veterans.
(2) Requirements.--
(A) Commission.--In conducting the study under paragraph
(1), the Commission shall--
(i) consider--
(I) each of the N11 dialing codes, including the
codes that are used for other purposes; and
(II) other covered dialing codes;
(ii) consult with the North American Numbering Council;
and
(iii) review the information provided by the Assistant
Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs under subparagraphs (B) and
(C), respectively, of this paragraph.
(B) SAMHSA study and report to assist commission.--To
assist the Commission in conducting the study under paragraph
(1), the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance
Use shall analyze and, not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, report to the Commission on--
(i) the potential impact of the designation of an N11
dialing code, or other covered dialing code, for a suicide
prevention and mental health crisis hotline system on--
(I) suicide prevention;
(II) crisis services; and
(III) other suicide prevention and mental health
crisis hotlines, including--
(aa) the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline;
and
(bb) the Veterans Crisis Line; and
(ii) possible recommendations for improving the
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline generally, which may
include--
(I) increased public education and awareness; and
(II) improved infrastructure and operations.
(C) VA study and report to assist commission.--To assist
the Commission in conducting the study under paragraph (1), the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall study and, not later than
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, report to the
Commission on how well the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
and the Veterans Crisis Line, as in effect on the date on which
the study is initiated, is working to address the needs of
veterans.
(b) Primary Commission Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commission, in coordination with the
Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall submit a report on the study
conducted under subsection (a) that recommends whether a particular
N11 dialing code or other covered dialing code should be used for a
national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline system
to--
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives; and
(E) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Additional contents.--If the report submitted by the
Commission under paragraph (1) recommends that a dialing code
should be used, the report shall also--
(A) outline the logistics of designating such a dialing
code;
(B) estimate the costs associated with designating such a
dialing code, including--
(i) the costs incurred by service providers,
including--
(I) translation changes in the network; and
(II) cell site analysis and reprogramming by
wireless carriers; and
(ii) the costs incurred by States and localities;
(C) provide recommendations for designating such a dialing
code;
(D) provide a cost-benefit analysis comparing the
recommended dialing code with the National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline, as in effect on the date on which the report is
submitted; and
(E) make other recommendations, as appropriate, for
improving the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline generally,
which may include--
(i) increased public education and awareness; and
(ii) improved infrastructure and operations.
SEC. 4. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.
No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act. This Act shall be carried out using amounts otherwise
authorized.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.