IB 
Union Calendar No. 420 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5619 
[Report No. 116–520] 
To authorize a pilot program to expand and intensify surveillance of self- 
harm in partnership with State and local public health departments, 
to establish a grant program to provide self-harm and suicide prevention 
services in hospital emergency departments, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 15, 2020 
Mr. STEWART (for himself and Ms. MATSUI) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
SEPTEMBER 18, 2020 
Additional sponsors: Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. TRONE, 
and Mr. DELGADO 
SEPTEMBER 18, 2020 
Reported with an amendment; committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 15, 2020] 
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A BILL 
To authorize a pilot program to expand and intensify surveil-
lance of self-harm in partnership with State and local 
public health departments, to establish a grant program 
to provide self-harm and suicide prevention services in 
hospital emergency departments, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Suicide Prevention Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE OF SELF-HARM BEHAV-
IORS PROGRAM. 
Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended 
by inserting after section 317U of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
247b–23) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 317V. SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE OF SELF-HARM BE-
HAVIORS PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award grants 
to State, local, Tribal, and territorial public health depart-
ments for the expansion of surveillance of self-harm. 
‘‘(b) DATA SHARING BY GRANTEES.—As a condition 
of receipt of such grant under subsection (a), each grantee 
shall agree to share with the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention in real time, to the extent feasible and as 
specified in the grant agreement, data on suicides and self- 
harm for purposes of— 
‘‘(1) tracking and monitoring self-harm to in-
form response activities to suicide clusters; 
‘‘(2) informing prevention programming for 
identified at-risk populations; and 
‘‘(3) conducting or supporting research. 
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through appropriate mechanisms determined by the 
Secretary in consultation with Indian Tribes; or 
‘‘(3) located in a State with a high rate of cov-
erage of statewide (or Tribal) emergency department 
visits, as determined by the Director of the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention. 
‘‘(e) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—In making grants 
under this section, the Secretary shall make an effort to en-
sure geographic distribution, taking into account the unique 
needs of rural communities, including— 
‘‘(1) communities with an incidence of individ-
uals with serious mental illness, demonstrated suici-
dal ideation or behavior, or suicide rates that are 
above the national average, as determined by the As-
sistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance 
Use; 
‘‘(2) communities with a shortage of prevention 
and treatment services, as determined by the Assist-
ant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use 
and the Administrator of the Health Resources and 
Services Administration; and 
‘‘(3) other appropriate community-level factors 
and social determinants of health such as income, em-
ployment, and education. 
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‘‘(f) PERIOD OF PARTICIPATION.—To be selected as a 
grant recipient under this section, a State, local, Tribal, 
or territorial public health department shall agree to par-
ticipate in the program for a period of not less than 4 years. 
‘‘(g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 
provide technical assistance and training to grantees for 
collecting and sharing the data under subsection (b). 
‘‘(h) DATA SHARING BY HHS.—Subject to subsection 
(b), the Secretary shall, with respect to data on self-harm 
that is collected pursuant to this section, share and inte-
grate such data through— 
‘‘(1) the National Syndromic Surveillance Pro-
gram’s Early Notification of Community Epidemics 
(ESSENCE) platform (or any successor platform); 
‘‘(2) the National Violent Death Reporting Sys-
tem, as appropriate; or 
‘‘(3) another appropriate surveillance program, 
including such a program that collects data on sui-
cides and self-harm among special populations, such 
as members of the military and veterans. 
‘‘(i) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING APPLICA-
BILITY OF PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.—Nothing in this section 
shall be construed to limit or alter the application of Fed-
eral or State law relating to the privacy of information to 
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data or information that is collected or created under this 
section. 
‘‘(j) REPORT.— 
‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 3 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
evaluate the suicide and self-harm syndromic surveil-
lance systems at the Federal, State, and local levels 
and submit a report to Congress on the data collected 
under subsections (b) and (c) in a manner that pre-
vents the disclosure of individually identifiable infor-
mation, at a minimum, consistent with all applicable 
privacy laws and regulations. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—In addition to the data col-
lected under subsections (b) and (c), the report under 
paragraph (1) shall include— 
‘‘(A) challenges and gaps in data collection 
and reporting; 
‘‘(B) recommendations to address such gaps 
and challenges; and 
‘‘(C) a description of any public health re-
sponses initiated at the Federal, State, or local 
level in response to the data collected. 
‘‘(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated 
$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025.’’. 
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SEC. 3. GRANTS TO PROVIDE SELF-HARM AND SUICIDE PRE-
VENTION SERVICES. 
Part B of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 290aa et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘SEC. 520N. GRANTS TO PROVIDE SELF-HARM AND SUICIDE 
PREVENTION SERVICES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall award grants to hospital emergency 
departments to provide self-harm and suicide prevention 
services. 
‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—A hospital emergency de-
partment awarded a grant under subsection (a) shall 
use amounts under the grant to implement a program 
or protocol to better prevent suicide attempts among 
hospital patients after discharge, which may in-
clude— 
‘‘(A) screening patients for self-harm and 
suicide in accordance with the standards of prac-
tice described in subsection (e)(1) and standards 
of care established by appropriate medical and 
advocacy organizations; 
‘‘(B) providing patients short-term self- 
harm and suicide prevention services in accord-
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ance with the results of the screenings described 
in subparagraph (A); and 
‘‘(C) referring patients, as appropriate, to a 
health care facility or provider for purposes of 
receiving long-term self-harm and suicide pre-
vention services, and providing any additional 
follow up services and care identified as appro-
priate as a result of the screenings and short- 
term self-harm and suicide prevention services 
described in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 
‘‘(2) USE
OF
FUNDS
TO
HIRE
AND
TRAIN 
STAFF.—Amounts awarded under subsection (a) may 
be used to hire clinical social workers, mental and be-
havioral health care professionals, and support staff 
as appropriate, and to train existing staff and newly 
hired staff to carry out the activities described in 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(c) GRANT TERMS.—A grant awarded under sub-
section (a)— 
‘‘(1) shall be for a period of 3 years; and 
‘‘(2) may be renewed subject to the requirements 
of this section. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—A hospital emergency depart-
ment seeking a grant under subsection (a) shall submit an 
application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 
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and accompanied by such information as the Secretary 
may require. 
‘‘(e) STANDARDS OF PRACTICE.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this section, the Sec-
retary shall develop standards of practice for screen-
ing patients for self-harm and suicide for purposes of 
carrying out subsection (b)(1)(C). 
‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall de-
velop the standards of practice described in para-
graph (1) in consultation with individuals and enti-
ties with expertise in self-harm and suicide preven-
tion, including public, private, and non-profit enti-
ties. 
‘‘(f) REPORTING.— 
‘‘(1) REPORTS TO THE SECRETARY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A hospital emergency 
department awarded a grant under subsection 
(a) shall, at least quarterly for the duration of 
the grant, submit to the Secretary a report eval-
uating the activities supported by the grant. 
‘‘(B) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The re-
port required under subparagraph (A) shall in-
clude— 
‘‘(i) the number of patients receiving— 
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‘‘(I) screenings carried out at the 
hospital emergency department; 
‘‘(II) short-term self-harm and 
suicide prevention services at the hos-
pital emergency department; and 
‘‘(III) referrals to health care fa-
cilities for the purposes of receiving 
long-term self-harm and suicide pre-
vention; 
‘‘(ii) information on the adherence of 
the hospital emergency department to the 
standards of practice described in subsection 
(f)(1); and 
‘‘(iii) other information as the Sec-
retary determines appropriate to evaluate 
the use of grant funds. 
‘‘(2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 
years after the date of the enactment of the Suicide 
Prevention Act, and biennially thereafter, the Sec-
retary shall submit to the Committee on Health, Edu-
cation, Labor and Pensions of the Senate and the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
Representatives a report on the grant program under 
this section, including— 
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‘‘(A) a summary of reports received by the 
Secretary under paragraph (1); and 
‘‘(B) an evaluation of the program by the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated 
$30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 420 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5619 
[Report No. 116–520] 
A BILL 
To authorize a pilot program to expand and inten-
sify surveillance of self-harm in partnership with 
State and local public health departments, to es-
tablish a grant program to provide self-harm and 
suicide prevention services in hospital emergency 
departments, and for other purposes. 
SEPTEMBER 18, 2020 
Reported with an amendment; committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 
and ordered to be printed 
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