II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2488 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to expand the capacity of the 

suicide prevention lifeline and mental health crisis centers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2021 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. BENNET, Ms. ERNST, and Mr. WARNER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to expand the 

capacity of the suicide prevention lifeline and mental 

health crisis centers. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Suicide and Crisis Out5 reach Prevention Enhancement Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. EXPANDING CAPACITY OF THE SUICIDE PREVEN2 TION LIFELINE AND MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS 

3 CENTERS. 

4 Section 520E–3 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 290bb–36c) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

8 (i) by inserting ‘‘supporting and’’ be9 fore ‘‘coordinating’’; and 

10 (ii) by inserting ‘‘mental health’’ be11 fore ‘‘crisis intervention services’’; 

12 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and 

13 (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; 

14 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1), the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(2) increasing the capacity of the program and 

17 crisis centers participating in the network to provide 

18 suicide prevention and mental health crisis interven19 tion services to individuals seeking help;’’; 

20 (D) in paragraph (3), as redesignated by 

21 subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

22 semicolon; 

23 (E) in paragraph (4), as redesignated by 

24 subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the 

25 end and inserting a semicolon; and 


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1 (F) by inserting after paragraph (4), as re2 designated by subparagraph (B), the following: 

3 ‘‘(5) improving awareness of the program for 

4 suicide prevention and mental health crisis interven5 tion services, including by conducting an awareness 

6 campaign and ongoing outreach to the public; and 

7 ‘‘(6) establishing, standardizing, and maintain8 ing data collection and reports on racial, ethnic, geo9 graphic, socioeconomic, and other health disparities 

10 to understand disparities in access to the program 

11 and among individuals who are seeking help.’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘$7,198,000 

13 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022’’ and in14 serting ‘‘$50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

15 through 2026’’. 

16 SEC. 3. ENSURING CONNECTIONS AND ACCESS FOR LOW17 INCOME USERS. 

18 (a) TRANSMISSION OF CONNECTION.—A tele19 communications carrier (as defined in section 3 of the 

20 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153))— 

21 (1) shall transmit all calls to 988 and the Na22 tional Suicide Prevention Lifeline to a caller’s local 

23 crisis center; and 


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1 (2) if a local crisis center transfers such a call 

2 to a local emergency, mental health, or social serv3 ices resource, shall transmit the call accordingly. 

4 (b) PRE-PAID PHONE PLANS.—Calls to 988 and the 

5 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline from phones with 

6 pre-paid plans shall not count toward used minutes and 

7 a telecommunications carrier (as defined in subsection (a)) 

8 shall not deduct minutes from a caller’s pre-paid phone 

9 plan for such purposes. 

10 (c) ENFORCEMENT.—A violation of this section shall 

11 be treated as a violation of the Communications Act of 

12 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). The Federal Communica13 tions Commission shall enforce this section in the same 

14 manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdic15 tion, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms and 

16 provisions of the Communications Act of 1934 were incor17 porated into and made a part of this section. 

Æ 


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