[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2345 Received in Senate (RDS)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 2345
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 24, 2018
Received
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
Passed the House of Representatives July 23, 2018.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.