[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 13, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2412-S2414]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL SUICIDE HOTLINE DESIGNATION ACT OF 2019
Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, in a Chamber that has seen more than its
fair share of life-or-death matters, especially the last several
months, this bill that I am about to ask for unanimous consent to pass
before the Senate, the creation of the 988 National Suicide Hotline
bill, is a bill that gives hope to life.
This bill will save lives. It has been an honor to work on this
legislation so we can come together as a Chamber, as a Congress, as a
nation, to do all we can to save those precious lives, those precious
voices, that we lose too often.
In Colorado, we lose someone to suicide every 7 hours. The bill that
we are about to pass can change that. We can all change that with
responsible actions, more funding, more efforts, and this is our start
to continue the great work that has been done, to build on the work
that we know needs to be done, to create a 3-digit 988 national hotline
to prevent suicide.
I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation be discharged and the Senate proceed to the immediate
consideration of S. 2661.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 2661) to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to
designate 9-8-8 as the universal telephone number for the
purpose of the national suicide prevention and mental health
crisis hotline system operating through the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline and through the Veterans Crisis Line, and
for other purposes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to proceeding to the
measure?
There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the
Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. GARDNER. I ask unanimous consent that the Gardner substitute
amendment at the desk be agreed to and that the bill, as amended, be
considered read a third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 1585) was agreed to as follows
(Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
[[Page S2413]]
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Suicide Hotline
Designation Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) According to the American Foundation for Suicide
Prevention, on average, there are 129 suicides per day in the
United States.
(2) To prevent future suicides, it is critical to
transition the cumbersome, existing 10-digit National Suicide
Hotline to a universal, easy-to-remember, 3-digit phone
number and connect people in crisis with life-saving
resources.
(3) It is essential that people in the United States have
access to a 3-digit national suicide hotline across all
geographic locations.
(4) The designated suicide hotline number will need to be
both familiar and recognizable to all people in the United
States.
SEC. 3. UNIVERSAL TELEPHONE NUMBER FOR NATIONAL SUICIDE
PREVENTION AND MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS HOTLINE
SYSTEM.
(a) In General.--Section 251(e) of the Communications Act
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 251(e)) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(4) Universal telephone number for national suicide
prevention and mental health crisis hotline system.--9-8-8 is
designated as the universal telephone number within the
United States for the purpose of the national suicide
prevention and mental health crisis hotline system operating
through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline maintained
by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance
Use under section 520E-3 of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 290bb-36c) and through the Veterans Crisis Line
maintained by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under section
1720F(h) of title 38, United States Code.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date
of enactment of this Act.
(c) Required Report.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary for
Mental Health and Substance Use and the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall jointly submit a report that details the
resources necessary to make the use of 9-8-8, as designated
under paragraph (4) of section 251(e) of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 251(e)), as added by subsection (a) of
this section, operational and effective across the United
States to--
(1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives; and
(4) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
SEC. 4. STATE AUTHORITY OVER FEES.
(a) Authority.--
(1) In general.--Nothing in this Act, any amendment made by
this Act, the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et
seq.), or any Commission regulation or order may prevent the
imposition and collection of a fee or charge applicable to a
commercial mobile service or an IP-enabled voice service
specifically designated by a State, a political subdivision
of a State, an Indian Tribe, or village or regional
corporation serving a region established pursuant to the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)
for 9-8-8 related services, if the fee or charge is held in a
sequestered account to be obligated or expended only in
support of 9-8-8 services, or enhancements of such services,
as specified in the provision of State or local law adopting
the fee or charge.
(2) Use of 9-8-8 funds.--A fee or charge collected under
this subsection shall only be imposed, collected, and used to
pay expenses that a State, a political subdivision of a
State, an Indian Tribe, or village or regional corporation
serving a region established pursuant to the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is expected to
incur that are reasonably attributed to--
(A) ensuring the efficient and effective routing of calls
made to the 9-8-8 national suicide prevention and mental
health crisis hotline to an appropriate crisis center; and
(B) personnel and the provision of acute mental health,
crisis outreach and stabilization services by directly
responding to the 9-8-8 national suicide prevention and
mental health crisis hotline.
(b) Fee Accountability Report.--To ensure efficiency,
transparency, and accountability in the collection and
expenditure of a fee or charge for the support or
implementation of 9-8-8 services, not later than 2 years
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually
thereafter, the Commission shall submit to the Committees on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Appropriations of
the Senate and the Committees on Energy and Commerce and
Appropriations of the House of Representatives a report
that--
(1) details the status in each State, political subdivision
of a State, Indian Tribe, or village or regional corporation
serving a region established pursuant to the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) of the
collection and distribution of such fees or charges; and
(2) includes findings on the amount of revenues obligated
or expended by each State, political subdivision of a State,
Indian Tribe, or village or regional corporation serving a
region established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) for any purpose other
than the purpose for which any such fees or charges are
specified.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Commercial mobile service.--The term ``commercial
mobile service'' has the meaning given that term under
section 332(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
332(d)).
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Communications Commission.
(3) IP-enabled voice service.--The term ``IP-enabled voice
service'' shall include--
(A) an interconnected VoIP service, as defined in section
9.3 of the title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or
any successor thereto; and
(B) a one-way interconnected VoIP service.
(4) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given that
term in section 7 of the Wireless Communications and Public
Safety Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C. 615b).
SEC. 5. LOCATION IDENTIFICATION REPORT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications
Commission shall submit to the appropriate committees a
report that examines the feasibility and cost of including an
automatic dispatchable location that would be conveyed with a
9-8-8 call, regardless of the technological platform used and
including with calls from multi-line telephone systems (as
defined in section 6502 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and
Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1471)).
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate committees.--The term ``appropriate
committees'' means the following:
(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 Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Dispatchable location.--The term ``dispatchable
location'' means the street address of the calling party and
additional information such as room number, floor number, or
similar information necessary to adequately identify the
location of the calling party.
SEC. 6. REPORT ON CERTAIN TRAINING PROGRAMS.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or
queer (referred to in this section as ``LGBTQ'') are more
than 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide than their
peers, with 1 in 5 LGBTQ youth and more than 1 in 3
transgender youth reporting attempting suicide;
(2) American Indian and Alaska Natives have the highest
rate of suicide of any racial or ethnic group in the United
States with a suicide rate over 3.5 times higher than the
racial or ethnic group with the lowest rate, with the suicide
rate increasing, since 1999, by 139 percent for American
Indian women and 71 percent for men;
(3) between 2001 and 2015, the suicide death rate in rural
counties in the United States was 17.32 per 100,000
individuals, which is significantly greater than the national
average, and the data shows that between that same time
period, suicide rates increased for all age groups across all
counties in the United States, with the highest rates and the
greatest increases being in more rural counties; and
(4) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration must be equipped to provide specialized
resources to these and other high-risk populations.
(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary for Mental
Health and Substance Use shall submit to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the
Senate, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House
of Representatives a report that--
(1) details a strategy, to be developed in consultation
with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the
National Institute of Mental Health, and organizations
capable of providing nationwide suicide prevention and crisis
services for LGBTQ youth, minorities, rural individuals, or
other high-risk populations, for the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration to offer, support, or
provide technical assistance to training programs for
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline counselors to increase
competency in serving high-risk populations; and
(2) includes recommendations regarding--
(A) the facilitation of access to services that are
provided to specially trained staff and partner organizations
for LGBTQ youth, minorities, rural individuals, and other
high-risk populations; and
(B) a strategy for optimally implementing an Integrated
Voice Response, or other equally effective mechanism, to
allow National Suicide Prevention Lifeline callers who are
LGBTQ youth, minorities, rural individuals, or members of
other high-risk populations to access specialized services.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read
the third time.
Mr. GARDNER. I know of no further debate on the bill, as amended.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate on the bill, as
amended?
The bill having been read the third time, the question is, Shall the
bill pass?
[[Page S2414]]
The bill (S. 2661), as amended, was passed.
Mr. GARDNER. I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be
considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, this is a big deal for the lives of so
many people across the country, and I am grateful to our colleagues
that we were able to get this passed today.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. BARRASSO. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum
call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________