[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2425 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2425
To amend the Public Health Service Act to ensure the provision of high-
quality service through the Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 21, 2021
Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Moran) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to ensure the provision of high-
quality service through the Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Improvement Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE.
(a) Plan.--Section 520E-3 of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 290bb-36c) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (e); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
``(c) Plan.--
``(1) In general.--For purposes of maintaining the suicide
prevention hotline under subsection (b)(2), the Secretary shall
develop and implement a plan to ensure the provision of high-
quality service.
``(2) Contents.--The plan required by paragraph (1) shall
include the following:
``(A) Quality assurance provisions, including--
``(i) clearly defined and measurable
performance indicators and objectives to
improve the responsiveness and performance of
the hotline, including at backup call centers;
and
``(ii) quantifiable timeframes to track the
progress of the hotline in meeting such
performance indicators and objectives.
``(B) Standards that crisis centers and backup
centers must meet--
``(i) to participate in the network under
subsection (b)(1); and
``(ii) to ensure that each telephone call,
online chat message, and other communication
received by the hotline, including at backup
call centers, is answered in a timely manner by
a person, consistent with the guidance
established by the American Association of
Suicidology or other guidance determined by the
Secretary to be appropriate.
``(C) Guidelines for crisis centers and backup
centers to implement evidence-based practices including
with respect to followup and referral to other health
and social services resources.
``(D) Guidelines to ensure that resources are
available and distributed to individuals using the
hotline who are not personally in a time of crisis but
know of someone who is.
``(E) Guidelines to carry out periodic testing of
the hotline, including at crisis centers and backup
centers, during each fiscal year to identify and
correct any problems in a timely manner.
``(F) Guidelines to operate in consultation with
the State department of health, local governments,
Indian tribes, and tribal organizations.
``(3) Initial plan; updates.--The Secretary shall--
``(A) not later than 6 months after the date of
enactment of the Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Improvement Act of 2021, complete development of the
initial version of the plan required by paragraph (1),
begin implementation of such plan, and make such plan
publicly available; and
``(B) periodically thereafter, update such plan and
make the updated plan publicly available.''.
(b) Transmission of Data to CDC.--Section 520E-3 of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-36c) is amended by inserting after
subsection (c) of such section, as added by subsection (a) of this
section, the following:
``(d) Transmission of Data to CDC.--The Secretary shall formalize
and strengthen agreements between the National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline program and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to
transmit any necessary epidemiological data from the program to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including local call center
data, to assist the Centers in suicide prevention efforts.''.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--Subsection (e) of section
520E-3 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-36c) is
amended to read as follows:
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) In general.--To carry out this section, there are
authorized to be appropriated $113,600,000 for each of fiscal
years 2022 through 2024.
``(2) Allocation.--Of the amount authorized to be
appropriated by paragraph (1) for each of fiscal years 2022
through 2024, at least 80 percent shall be made available to
crisis centers.''.
SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM ON INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES.
(a) Pilot Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental
Health and Substance Use, shall carry out a pilot program to
research, analyze, and employ various technologies and
platforms of communication (including social media platforms,
texting platforms, and email platforms) for suicide prevention
in addition to the telephone and online chat service provided
by the Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
(2) Authorization of appropriations.--To carry out
paragraph (1), there is authorized to be appropriated
$5,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
(b) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date on which the
pilot program under subsection (a) commences, the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental
Health and Substance Use, shall submit to Congress a report on the
pilot program. With respect to each platform of communication employed
pursuant to the pilot program, the report shall include--
(1) a full description of the program;
(2) the number of individuals served by the program;
(3) the average wait time for each individual to receive a
response;
(4) the cost of the program, including the cost per
individual served; and
(5) any other information the Secretary determines
appropriate.
SEC. 4. HHS STUDY AND REPORT.
Not later than 2 years after the Secretary of Health and Human
Services begins implementation of the plan required by section 520E-
3(c) of the Public Health Service Act, as added by section 2(a)(2) of
this Act, the Secretary shall--
(1) complete a study on--
(A) the implementation of such plan, including the
progress towards meeting the objectives identified
pursuant to paragraph (2)(A)(i) of such section 520E-
3(c) by the timeframes identified pursuant to paragraph
(2)(A)(ii) of such section 520E-3(c); and
(B) in consultation with the Director of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, options to
expand data gathering from calls to the Suicide
Prevention Lifeline in order to better track aspects of
usage such as repeat calls, consistent with applicable
Federal and State privacy laws; and
(2) submit a report to Congress on the results of such
study, including recommendations on whether additional
legislation or appropriations are needed.
SEC. 5. GAO STUDY AND REPORT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the Secretary of
Health and Human Services begins implementation of the plan required by
section 520E-3(c) of the Public Health Service Act, as added by section
2(a)(2) of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall--
(1) complete a study on the Suicide Prevention Lifeline;
and
(2) submit a report to Congress on the results of such
study.
(b) Issues To Be Studied.--The study required by subsection (a)
shall address--
(1) the feasibility of geolocating callers to direct calls
to the nearest crisis center;
(2) operation shortcomings of the Suicide Prevention
Lifeline;
(3) geographic coverage of each crisis call center;
(4) the call answer rate of each crisis call center;
(5) the call wait time of each crisis call center;
(6) the hours of operation of each crisis call center;
(7) funding avenues of each crisis call center;
(8) the implementation of the plan under section 520E-3(c)
of the Public Health Service Act, as added by section 2(a) of
this Act, including the progress towards meeting the objectives
identified pursuant to paragraph (2)(A)(i) of such section
520E-3(c) by the timeframes identified pursuant to paragraph
(2)(A)(ii) of such section 520E-3(c); and
(9) service to individuals requesting a foreign language
speaker, including--
(A) the number of calls or chats the Lifeline
receives from individuals speaking a foreign language;
(B) the capacity of the Lifeline to handle these
calls or chats; and
(C) the number of crisis centers with the capacity
to serve foreign language speakers, in house.
(c) Recommendations.--The report required by subsection (a) shall
include recommendations for improving the Suicide Prevention Lifeline,
including recommendations for legislative and administrative actions.
SEC. 6. DEFINITION.
In this Act, the term ``Suicide Prevention Lifeline'' means the
suicide prevention hotline maintained pursuant to section 520E-3 of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-36c).
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