[Senate Report 117-69]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress       }                               {         Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session          }                               {         117-69
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     


            NATIONAL SUICIDE HOTLINE DESIGNATION ACT OF 2019

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

           COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION










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                February 9, 2022.--Ordered to be printed 
                
                             _________
                              
                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                 
29-010                   WASHINGTON : 2022
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
       SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
                    one hundred seventeenth congress
                             second session

                   MARIA CANTWELL, Washington, Chair
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota             ROGER WICKER, Mississippi
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut      JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii                 ROY BLUNT, Missouri
EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts      TED CRUZ, Texas
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan             DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin             JERRY MORAN, Kansas
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois            DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
JON TESTER, Montana                  MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              TODD C. YOUNG, Indiana
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  MIKE LEE, Utah
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico            RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado          SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia

RAPHAEL WARNOCK, Georgia             RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     CYNTHIA LUMMIS, Wyoming
                 Melissa Porter, Acting Staff Director
                  John Keast, Minority Staff Director 
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
117th Congress       }                               {         Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session          }                               {         117-69

======================================================================



 
            NATIONAL SUICIDE HOTLINE DESIGNATION ACT OF 2019

                                _______
                                

                February 9, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

      Ms. Cantwell, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to 
which was referred the 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, having 
considered the same, ordered to be reported favorably thereon 
with an amendment (in the nature of a substitute) and 
recommended that the bill (as amended) do pass. The bill was 
discharged and passed with an amendment (in the nature of a 
substitute) in the Senate by unanimous consent. On May 14, 
2020, S. 2661 was received in the House of Representatives. On 
September 21, 2020, a motion to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill was agreed to by voice vote in the House of 
Representatives. On October 17, 2020, S. 2661 was signed by the 
President and became Public Law 116-72.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act 
of 2019 (S. 2661) is to designate the three-digit dialing code 
9-8-8 as the universal telephone number for the purpose of the 
national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline 
system. S. 2661 also would reserve the ability of States to 
assess fees to support the hotline system, and make other 
changes to the law to enhance the effectiveness of the hotline 
system.

                          Background and Needs

    Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United 
States.\1\ In 2017, over 47,000 Americans committed suicide,\2\ 
and more than 1.4 million adults attempted suicide.\3\ The 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that, 
between 1999 and 2016, the number of suicides increased in 49 
of 50 States, and in more than 25 States, the number of 
suicides increased by over 20 percent.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Kenneth D. Kochanek et al., ``Deaths: Final Data for 2017,'' 
National Vital Statistics Reports 68, no. 9 (Jun. 24, 2019) (https://
www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_09-508.pdf) (accessed May 7, 
2020).
    \2\National Institute of Mental Health, ``Suicide,'' updated Apr. 
2019 (https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml) 
(accessed May 7, 2020).
    \3\U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse 
and Mental Health Services Administration, National Suicide Hotline 
Improvement Act: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration Report to the Federal Communications Commission, Feb. 7, 
2019, WC docket no. 18-336, CC docket no. 92-105, at 2 (https://
ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1022280990575/19021504-1.pdf) (accessed May 7, 
2020).
    \4\Federal Communications Commission, Wireline Competition Bureau, 
Office of Economics and Analytics, Report on the National Suicide 
Hotline Improvement Act of 2018, Aug. 14, 2019, 1 (https://
docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-359095A1.pdf) (accessed May 7, 
2020).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Segments of the U.S. population are at higher risk, 
including teens, veterans, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals.\5\ For example, the 
rise in teenage suicides has outpaced the increase in suicides 
in general.\6\ Between 2007 and 2017, the rate of suicide among 
those aged 10 to 24 increased by 56 percent.\7\ According to 
the Trevor Project, LGBTQ youth (1) contemplate suicide at 
almost three times the rate of heterosexual youth and (2) are 
almost five times more likely to have attempted suicide 
compared to heterosexual youth.\8\ According to one filing with 
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission), it 
was projected that 500,000 LGBTQ youth would attempt suicide in 
2019.\9\ Additionally, more than 20 veterans die by suicide 
every day.\10\ Between 2006 and 2016, more than 6,000 veterans 
committed suicide each year.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\FCC report at para. 1.
    \6\EJ Dickson, ``Teen Suicide Is on the Rise and No One Knows 
Why,'' Rolling Stone, 
Oct. 18, 2019 (https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/teen-
suicide-study-increase-why-900711/) (accessed May 7, 2020).
    \7\Jane E. Brody, ``The Crisis in Youth Suicide,'' The New York 
Times, Dec. 2, 2019 (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/02/well/mind/the-
crisis-in-youth-suicide.html) (accessed May 7, 2020).
    \8\The Trevor Project, ``Preventing Suicide: Facts About Suicide'' 
(https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/preventing-suicide/facts-
about-suicide/) (accessed May 7, 2020).
    \9\Letter from U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin and Dan Sullivan to Hon. 
Ajit Pai, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission, Jul. 18, 2019 
(https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/108062439600670/
Letter%20to%20Chairman%20Pai%20re%20Hotline%20Improvement%20
Act%20Implementation%207.18.19.pdf) (accessed May 7, 2020).
    \10\Id.
    \11\U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health 
Administration, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Veteran 
National Suicide Data Report 2005-2016, Sep. 2018, 4 (https://
www.mentalhealth.va.gov/docs/data-sheets/
OMHSP_National_Suicide_Data_Report_
2005-2016_508.pdf) (accessed May 7, 2020).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline) 
currently provides suicide prevention assistance at 1-800-273-
8255 (TALK).\12\ The Lifeline is a national network of 163 
crisis centers that is funded by the Department of Health and 
Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration (SAMHSA).\13\ Trained counselors answered over 
2.2 million calls and over 100,000 online chats in 2018.\14\ In 
2007, SAMHSA and Veterans Affairs partnered to establish this 
number as the access point for the Veterans Crisis Line, which 
can be reached by pressing option 1.\15\ ``The Veterans Crisis 
Line is comprised of 3 linked call centers in Canandaigua, New 
York, Atlanta, Georgia, and Topeka, Kansas, and it collaborates 
with a network of over 400 Suicide Prevention Coordinators, 
which are located at VA facilities across the country.''\16\ 
Since the Veterans Crisis Line was launched in 2007, more than 
3.8 million calls have been answered.\17\
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    \12\The Lifeline can also be accessed via multiple toll-free 
numbers, including 1-800-784-2433 (1-800-SUICIDE), 1-888-784-2433 (1-
888-SUICIDE), and 1-877-2432 (SUICIDA). See U.S. Department of Health 
and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration, Petition for the Permanent Reassignment of Three Toll 
Free Suicide Prevention Hotline Numbers, WC docket no. 07-271, CC 
docket no. 95-155, order, 27 FCC Rcd 2965 (WCB 2012); see also SAMHSA 
report at 3.
    \13\Id.
    \14\SAMHSA report at 5.
    \15\U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health 
Administration, National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act of 2018, Feb. 
7, 2019, WC docket no. 18-336, CC docket no. 92-105, 4 (https://
ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/10222879923948/19021504-2.pdf) (accessed May 7, 
2020); see also FCC report at 5.
    \16\Federal Communications Commission, Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking: Implementation of the National Suicide Hotline Improvement 
Act of 2018, WC docket no. 18-336, rel. December 16, 2019, at para 7 
(internal citations omitted) (https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/
121669091890/FCC-19-128A1_Rcd.pdf) (accessed Feb. 17, 2021).
    \17\See Notice of Proposed Rulemaking at para 7. The Crisis Line 
has also answered more than 439,000 online chats and nearly 108,000 
texts since those services began.
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    Stakeholders have recommended the adoption of a nationwide, 
easy-to-remember three-digit dialing code to ``make it easier 
for people in the U.S. experiencing a crisis to receive 
immediate and appropriate mental health support and 
referral.''\18\ The National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act of 
2018\19\ directed the FCC, in coordination with the Assistant 
Secretary of Health and Human Services for Mental Health and 
Substance Use and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to analyze 
the effectiveness of the existing National Suicide Prevention 
Lifeline and examine the feasibility of designating a three-
digit dialing code for the national suicide prevention and 
mental health crisis hotline system.\20\ After reviewing the 
SAMHSA Report, the 2018 VA National Suicide Data Report, and an 
extensive record of public comments, the Commission issued the 
required report on August 24, 2019.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \18\NAMI, ``Action Alert: Join Us In Supporting A 3-Digit Number 
For Suicide Prevention'' (https://namica.org/action-alert-join-us-in-
supporting-a-3-digit-number-for-suicide-prevention/) (accessed May 7, 
2020).
    \19\National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act of 2018; Pub. L. 115-
233, 132 Stat. 3425.
    \20\Id. Section 3(a)(2)(A)-(B).
    \21\FCC report.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Commission's report found that a three-digit dialing 
code could help the existing suicide prevention lifelines be 
more effective in preventing suicides and providing crisis 
intervention.\22\ According to the FCC, the reports from 
SAMHSA, the VA, the North American Numbering Council, and 
public comments supported ``the use of a dedicated three-digit 
dialing code to increase effectiveness of suicide prevention 
efforts, ease access to crisis services, and reduce the stigma 
surrounding suicide and mental health conditions.''\23\ The 
report concluded that designating a three-digit code dedicated 
solely for the purpose of the Lifeline would likely make it 
easier for Americans in crisis to access potentially life-
saving resources.\24\ The report also recommended the FCC 
conduct a rulemaking to consider designating 9-8-8 as the 
three-digit code.\25\ On December 12, 2019, the FCC initiated a 
proceeding to establish rules to designate 9-8-8 as the three-
digit code.\26\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \22\FCC report at 1, 9, 18.
    \23\Id.
    \24\FCC report at 1, 9, 18.
    \25\FCC report at 1, 18.
    \26\See Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
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    Groups supporting the designation of 9-8-8 have argued that 
Congress should advance legislation declaring 9-8-8 as the 
universal three-digit dialing code for suicide prevention to 
provide certainty to communications providers, the hotlines, 
and consumers seeking help. Such legislation also can 
accelerate the timeline for communications providers to 
complete the work necessary to implement necessary changes in 
their networks to implement the new number. In addition, 
legislation naming 9-8-8 as the dialing code can address other 
issues associated with that move, including the authority of 
States, localities, and other jurisdictions to assess fees or 
other charges to support the 9-8-8 system. Finally, legislation 
can address ancillary issues associated with the proposed 9-8-8 
system, like the possibility of including automatic location 
information with calls and the ability of the suicide 
prevention lifelines to properly meet the needs of LGBTQ and 
other high-risk populations.

                         Summary of Provisions

    S. 2661 would do the following:
   Designate 9-8-8 as the universal telephone number 
        for the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health 
        Hotline System and the Veterans Crisis Line.
   Require the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health 
        and Substance Use and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
        to develop a report detailing the resources necessary 
        to use 9-8-8, while affirming State and local authority 
        over fees to support a future 9-8-8 system.
   Require the FCC to report on the feasibility and 
        cost of including automatic dispatchable location 
        information for 9-8-8 calls, and require the Assistant 
        Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use to report 
        on a strategy for training programs to better serve 
        high risk populations, including youth who are lesbian, 
        gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer.

                          Legislative History

    S. 2661, the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 
2019, was introduced in the 116th Congress on October 22, 2019, 
by Senator Gardner (for himself and Senators Baldwin, Moran, 
and Reed) and was referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate. On December 11, 
2019, the Committee met in open Executive Session and, by voice 
vote, ordered S. 2661 reported favorably with an amendment (in 
the nature of a substitute). On May 13, 2020, S. 2661 was 
discharged and passed in the Senate with an amendment (in the 
nature of a substitute) by unanimous consent. On May 14, 2020, 
S. 2661 was received in the House of Representatives. On 
September 21, 2020, a motion to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill was agreed to by voice vote in the House of 
Representatives. On October 17, 2020, S. 2661 was signed by the 
President and became Public Law 116-72.
    S. 2661 is substantially similar to H.R. 4194, introduced 
on August 20, 2019, by Representative Chris Stewart in the 
House of Representatives.
    On May 3, 2017, Senator Hatch introduced S. 1015, the 
National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act of 2017, with Senator 
Donnelly as an original cosponsor. S. 1015 directed the FCC to 
conduct a study on the feasibility of designating a three-digit 
dialing code for a national suicide prevention and mental 
health hotline system, among other things. A companion measure, 
H.R. 2345, was introduced in the House of Representatives by 
Representative Chris Stewart on the same day. H.R. 2345 was 
signed into law on August 14, 2018.

                            Estimated Costs

    In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the 
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget 
Office:

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                         SUMMARY OF LEGISLATION

    S. 2661 would designate 9-8-8 as the universal telephone 
number for suicide prevention and mental health assistance in 
the United States. People who call 9-8-8 would be routed to the 
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline maintained by the 
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 
(SAMHSA) or the Veterans Crisis Line maintained by the 
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
    The act would require the following reports to the 
Congress:
           SAMHSA and VA on the level of resources 
        necessary to bring the 9-8-8 system into operation;
           SAMHSA on its plans to support training for 
        National Suicide Prevention Lifeline counselors, and 
        its technology strategy to better serve lesbian, gay, 
        bisexual, transgender, or queer youth and other high 
        risk populations; and
           The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 
        on the feasibility and cost of automatically 
        transmitting a caller's location to operators when 9-8-
        8 is called, and, two years after enactment, on how 
        states are collecting and spending fees that support 9-
        8-8 services.

                         ESTIMATED FEDERAL COST

    Using information from the affected agencies, CBO estimates 
that implementing the act would, on net, cost less than 
$500,000 over the 2021-2025 period. CBO estimates that it would 
cost the FCC $3 million to complete its required reports. 
However, because the FCC is authorized to collect regulatory 
fees in an amount sufficient to offset its annual 
appropriation, CBO expects that the change in net discretionary 
spending by the FCC would be negligible, assuming appropriation 
action consistent with that authority. CBO estimates that it 
would cost SAMHSA and VA less than $500,000 to issue its 
required reports.
    Because the FCC issued a final rule on July 16, 2020, that 
designated 9-8-8 as the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, 
CBO anticipates that any costs incurred by FCC, SAMSHA, and VA 
to establish the hotline would arise under current law.

                                MANDATES

    S. 2661 would impose an intergovernmental mandate as 
defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by setting 
the structure for fees levied by state, local, and tribal 
governments on voice and mobile service providers to support 
the national suicide prevention and mental-health crisis 
hotline. Because those intergovernmental entities do not 
currently levy such fees, the mandate would impose no costs on 
those entities, and thus not exceed the threshold established 
in UMRA ($84 million in 2020, adjusted annually for inflation).
    If the FCC increases annual fee collections to offset the 
costs to implement provisions in the act, S. 2661 would 
increase the cost of an existing mandate on entities required 
to pay those fees. Using information from the FCC, CBO 
estimates that the incremental cost of the mandate would be 
small, and well below the threshold for private-sector mandates 
established in UMRA ($168 million, adjusted annually for 
inflation).
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are David Hughes 
(for the FCC), Katherine Young (for SAMHSA), Ann E. Futrell 
(for VA), and Rachel Austin (for mandates). The estimate was 
reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget 
Analysis.

                      Regulatory Impact Statement

    In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the 
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the 
legislation:

                       number of persons covered

    S. 2661 would designate 9-8-8 as the three-digit dialing 
code for specified suicide prevention hotlines. As such, S. 
2661 would impose new obligations on providers of certain 
communications services, which are already subject to 
regulation by the FCC.

                            economic impact

    S. 2661 would not have an adverse economic impact on the 
Nation. It is expected that whatever cost might be imposed on 
communications providers in complying with the bill would be 
small and below the threshold of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act.

                                privacy

    S. 2661 would not have any adverse impact on the personal 
privacy of individuals.

                               paperwork

    S. 2661 would require four reports from the Federal 
Government. The first report would be submitted by the 
Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs within 180 days after the date of 
enactment regarding the resources necessary to make use of 9-8-
8. The second report would be submitted by the FCC to Congress 
no later than 180 days after the date of enactment concerning 
the feasibility and cost of conveying automatic dispatchable 
location information with a 9-8-8 call. The third reporting 
requirement would require the FCC to submit a report within 2 
years after the date of enactment, and annually thereafter, 
related to fees assessed by States and localities to support or 
implement 9-8-8 services. The fourth reporting requirement 
would require the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and 
Substance Use to submit a report to the appropriate committees 
of Congress no later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
on a strategy to offer, support, or provide technical 
assistance to training programs to increase competency in 
serving high risk populations, along with other information.

                   Congressionally Directed Spending

    In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no 
provisions contained in the bill meet the definition of 
congressionally directed spending items under the rule.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    This section would provide that the bill may be cited as 
the ``National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2019''.

Section 2. Findings

    This section would set out the key findings of the bill 
related to the need to designate a universal, easy-to-remember 
three-digit phone number for the national suicide hotline.

Section 3. Universal telephone number for national suicide prevention 
        and mental health crisis hotline system

    Subsection (a) of this section would amend section 251(e) 
of the Communications Act of 1934 to add a new paragraph (4) 
designating 9-8-8 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 and the 
Veterans Crisis Line.
    Subsection (b) of this section would make the amendment in 
subsection (a) effective 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act.
    Subsection (c) of this section would direct the Assistant 
Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs to jointly prepare a report within 180 days 
of enactment that details the resources necessary to make the 
use of 9-8-8 operational and effective across the United 
States. Copies of the report would be submitted to several 
named congressional committees.

Section 4. State authority over fees

    Subsection (a) of this section would establish that nothing 
in this Act, any amendment made by the Act, or any FCC 
regulation or order may prevent the imposition and collection 
of a fee for the support or implementation of 9-8-8 services 
applicable to a commercial mobile service or IP-enabled voice 
service by the following: (1) a State; (2) a political 
subdivision of a State; (3) an Indian Tribe; or (4) a village 
or regional corporation serving a region established pursuant 
to the Alaska Native Claims Act. Subsection (a) would further 
stipulate that any such fee must be held in a sequestered 
account to be obligated or expended only in support of 9-8-8 
services, or enhancements of such services. Finally, this 
subsection states that any such fee applicable to subscribers 
of IP-enabled voice services may not exceed the amount of any 
such fee applied to the same class of subscribers to 
telecommunications services.
    Subsection (b) of this section would require that not later 
than 2 years after the date of the enactment of S. 2661, and 
annually thereafter, the FCC shall submit to various named 
congressional committees a report that (1) details the status 
in each State 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 or political subdivision 
thereof for any purpose other than the purpose for which any 
such fees or charges are specified.
    Subsection (c) would define five key terms used throughout 
the section.
    Today Lifeline is partially funded by SAMHSA within the 
Department of Health and Human Services, and the Veterans 
Crisis Line by the Veterans Affairs Administration, in addition 
to the funding provided by States and community partners for 
local crisis call centers. The Committee does not intend for 
the Act's designation of 9-8-8 as the universal telephone 
number for national suicide prevention and mental health to 
change that--the Act would designate the number for the hotline 
operated through SAMHSA and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
    The Committee does not intend for the Act to shift funding 
for 9-8-8 services away from the current sources to commercial 
mobile service or IP-enabled voice service providers. To the 
contrary, the Committee believes that Congress should consider 
providing additional funding to support those services, based 
on the anticipated additional use of Lifeline resulting from 
the designation of 9-8-8 for that purpose. But in the event 
there is deficient funding or a shortfall in funding from 
current and future sources, this section would permit States, 
Indian Tribes, or villages or regional corporations serving a 
region established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act to seek to supplement funding from commercial 
mobile service or IP-enabled voice service providers if that 
funding would be used for direct support of 9-8-8 services.
    However, the Committee intends that, consistent with this 
section, the ability to require fees or charges from commercial 
mobile service or IP-related voice service providers is not 
unlimited. First, funds collected must: (i) be specifically to 
support 9-8-8 related services; (ii) be retained in a 
sequestered account; and (iii) used only for permitted 
purposes. Second, those permitted purposes are themselves 
limited. The Committee believes that the permitted supported 9-
8-8 services must be attributed to call routing on the one hand 
and staffing and direct support of the 9-8-8 hotline and 9-8-8 
crisis services on the other.

Section 5. Location identification report

    Subsection (a) of this section would require the FCC to 
examine the feasibility and cost of including an automatic 
dispatchable location that would be conveyed with a 9-8-8 call, 
regardless of the technology used and including with calls from 
multi-line telephone systems. The FCC would be required to 
submit a report on its findings to various named congressional 
committees within 180 days after enactment of this Act.
    Subsection (b) of this section would define two key terms 
used throughout the section. Of particular note, it would 
define the term ``dispatchable location'' to mean 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.

Section 6. Report on certain training programs

    Subsection (a) of this section would express that it is the 
sense of the Senate that:
   LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to 
        contemplate suicide than their peers.
   One in five LGBTQ youth and more than one in three 
        transgender youth report attempting suicide within the 
        past year.
   SAMHSA must be equipped to provide specialized 
        resources to this at-risk community.
    Subsection (b) of this section would require the Assistant 
Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse to submit a 
report to various named congressional committees within 180 
days of enactment that does the following:
   Details a strategy for SAMHSA to offer, support, or 
        provide technical assistance to training programs for 
        Lifeline counselors that is developed through 
        consultation with organizations with expertise in the 
        suicide of LGBTQ youth and other high-risk populations;
   Includes recommendations regarding facilitating 
        access to services provided by specially trained staff 
        and partner organizations for LGBTQ individuals and 
        other high-risk populations; and
   Includes recommendations regarding a strategy for 
        optimally implementing an Integrated Voice Response, or 
        other equally effective mechanism, to allow LGBTQ youth 
        or high-risk population callers to Lifeline to access 
        specialized services.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes made by the bill, to 
existing law at the time the bill was ordered reported, are 
shown as follows: (existing law proposed to be omitted is 
enclosed in brackets, new matter is printed in italic, and 
existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                           [47 U.S.C. 251(e)]

SEC. 251. INTERCONNECTION.

    (a) * * *
    (b) * * *
    (c) * * *
    (d) * * *
    (e) Numbering Administration.--
            (1) * * *
            (2) * * *
            (3) * * *
            (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.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                                  [all]