IIB 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2955 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
MAY 13, 2021 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions 
AN ACT 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:11 May 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2955.RFS
H2955
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
HR 2955 RFS
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 
departments 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. 
‘‘(c) DISAGGREGATION
OF DATA.—The Secretary 
shall provide for the data collected through surveillance 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:11 May 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2955.RFS
H2955
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
HR 2955 RFS
of self-harm under subsection (b) to be disaggregated by 
the following categories: 
‘‘(1) Nonfatal self-harm data of any intent. 
‘‘(2) Data on suicidal ideation. 
‘‘(3) Data on self-harm where there is no evi-
dence, whether implicit or explicit, of suicidal intent. 
‘‘(4) Data on self-harm where there is evidence, 
whether implicit or explicit, of suicidal intent. 
‘‘(5) Data on self-harm where suicidal intent is 
unclear based on the available evidence. 
‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—In making awards under subsection 
(a), the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that 
are— 
‘‘(1) located in a State with an age-adjusted 
rate of nonfatal suicidal behavior that is above the 
national rate of nonfatal suicidal behavior, as deter-
mined by the Director of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention; 
‘‘(2) serving an Indian Tribe (as defined in sec-
tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu-
cation Assistance Act) with an age-adjusted rate of 
nonfatal suicidal behavior that is above the national 
rate of nonfatal suicidal behavior, as determined 
through appropriate mechanisms determined by the 
Secretary in consultation with Indian Tribes; or 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:11 May 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2955.RFS
H2955
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
HR 2955 RFS
‘‘(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 ef-
fort to ensure 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, 
employment, and education. 
‘‘(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-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:11 May 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2955.RFS
H2955
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
HR 2955 RFS
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 sub-
section (b), the Secretary shall, with respect to data on 
self-harm that is collected pursuant to this section, share 
and integrate 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 sec-
tion shall be construed to limit or alter the application 
of Federal or State law relating to the privacy of informa-
tion to data or information that is collected or created 
under this section. 
‘‘(j) REPORT.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:11 May 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2955.RFS
H2955
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
HR 2955 RFS
‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 3 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall evaluate the suicide and self-harm 
syndromic surveillance systems at the Federal, 
State, and local levels and submit a report to Con-
gress on the data collected under subsections (b) and 
(c) in a manner that prevents the disclosure of indi-
vidually identifiable information, at a minimum, con-
sistent with all applicable privacy laws and regula-
tions. 
‘‘(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 appro-
priated $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 
2026.’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:11 May 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2955.RFS
H2955
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
HR 2955 RFS
SEC. 3. GRANTS TO PROVIDE SELF-HARM AND SUICIDE 
PREVENTION 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 pro-
gram or protocol to better prevent suicide attempts 
among hospital patients after discharge, which may 
include— 
‘‘(A) screening patients for self-harm and 
suicide in accordance with the standards of 
practice 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-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:11 May 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2955.RFS
H2955
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
HR 2955 RFS
ance with the results of the screenings de-
scribed 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 behavioral health care professionals, and sup-
port staff as appropriate, and to train existing staff 
and newly hired staff to carry out the activities de-
scribed 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 require-
ments 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 man-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:11 May 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2955.RFS
H2955
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
HR 2955 RFS
ner, and accompanied by such information as the Sec-
retary may require. 
‘‘(e) STANDARDS OF PRACTICE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this section, the 
Secretary shall develop standards of practice for 
screening patients for self-harm and suicide for pur-
poses 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 
evaluating the activities supported by the grant. 
‘‘(B) MATTERS
TO
BE
INCLUDED.—The 
report required under subparagraph (A) shall 
include— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:11 May 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2955.RFS
H2955
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
HR 2955 RFS
‘‘(i) the number of patients receiv-
ing— 
‘‘(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 sub-
section (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 Sui-
cide Prevention Act, and biennially thereafter, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate and 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:11 May 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2955.RFS
H2955
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
HR 2955 RFS
House of Representatives a report on the grant pro-
gram under this section, including— 
‘‘(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 appro-
priated $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 
2026.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives May 12, 2021. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:11 May 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2955.RFS
H2955
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS