,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #ajae  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #c1 #bjag 
,mr4 ,hatch 7for himself and ,mr4       
,donnelly7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,commerce1         
,science1 and ,transportation  ,a ,,bill
  ,to require the ,federal              
,communications ,commission to study the
 feasibility of designating a simple1   
easy-to-remember dialing code to be used
 for a national suicide prevention and  
mental health crisis hotline system4    
#a4 ,short title  ,this ,act may be     
cited as the ,national ,suicide ,hotline
 ,improvement ,act of #bjag4  #b4       
,findings ,congress finds the following3
 7#a7 ,according to the ,national       
,center for ,health ,statistics1 suicide
 rates in the ,united ,states have      
surged to their highest levels in nearly
 #cj years4  7#b7 ,the overall suicide  
rate rose by #bd percent from #aiii to  
#bjad4  7#c7 ,the ,national ,suicide    

,prevention ,lifeline 7#a-hjj-bgc-,,talk
 #hbee71 created under the leadership of
 the ,center for ,mental ,health        
,services of the ,substance ,abuse and  
,mental ,health ,services               
,administration 7commonly known as      
,,samhsa71 is a network of #afa crisis  
centers that provide a toll-free hotline
 #bd hours a day1 #g days a week to     
anyone experiencing a mental health or  
suicidal emergency or crisis4  7#d7 ,in 
#aifg1 the ,president's ,commission on  
,law ,enforcement and ,administration of
 ,justice recommended the creation of a 
single telephone number that could be   
used nationwide for reporting           
emergencies4  7#e7 ,in #aifh1 the       
,federal ,communications ,commission    
agreed upon the number #i-a-a1 one of   
eight ,n#aa dialing codes1 as a simple1 
easy-to-remember telephone number to be 
the dedicated number for reporting      
emergencies1 and #i-a-a became the      
national emergency number for           
individuals in the ,united ,states to   

access police1 fire1 and ambulance      
services4  7#f7 ,based on the success of
 the #i-a-a nationwide emergency number1
 a study by the ,federal ,communications
 ,commission regarding the use of a     
simple1 easy-to-remember dedicated      
#c-;digit dialing code for a suicide    
prevention and mental health crisis     
hotline system would be beneficial in   
the prevention of suicide nationwide4   
#c4 ,definitions ,in this ,act-- 7#a7   
the term ,assistant ,secretary means the
 ,assistant ,secretary for ,mental      
,health and ,substance ,use2  7#b7 the  
term ,commission means the ,federal     
,communications ,commission2  7#c7 the  
term covered dialing code means a       
simple1 easy-to-remember1 #c-;digit     
dialing code2 and  7#d7 the term ,n#aa  
dialing code means an abbreviated       
dialing code consisting of #c digits1 of
 which-- 7,a7 the first digit may be any
 digit other than #a or #j2 and  7,b7   
each of the last #b digits is #a4  #d4  
,,fcc study and report  7a7 ,study  7#a7

 ,in general ,the ,commission1 in       
coordination with the ,assistant        
,secretary1 shall conduct a study that--
  7,a7 examines the feasibility of      
designating an ,n#aa dialing code or    
other covered dialing code to be used   
for a national suicide prevention and   
mental health crisis hotline system2 and
  7,b7 analyzes the effectiveness of the
 current ,national ,suicide ,prevention 
,lifeline1 including how well the       
lifeline is working to address the needs
 of veterans4  7#b7 ,requirements ,in   
conducting the study under paragraph    
7#a71 the ,commission shall-- 7,a7      
request that the ,assistant ,secretary  
study and report to the ,commission on  
the potential impact of the designation 
of an ,n#aa dialing code1 or other      
covered dialing code1 for a suicide     
prevention and mental health crisis     
hotline system on--  7i7 suicide        
prevention2  7ii7 crisis services2      
7iii7 the ,national ,suicide ,prevention
 ,lifeline2 and  7iv7 the ,veterans     

,crisis ,line2  7,b7 consider-- 7i7 each
 of the ,n#aa dialing codes1 including  
the codes that are used for other       
purposes2 and  7ii7 other covered       
dialing codes2  7,c7 consult with the   
,north ,american ,numbering ,council2   
and  7,d7 consult with the ,secretary of
 ,veterans ,affairs with respect to how 
well the current ,national ,suicide     
,prevention ,lifeline is working to     
address the needs of veterans4  7b7     
,report ,not later than #ahj days after 
the date of enactment of this ,act1 the 
,commission shall submit to ,congress a 
report on the study conducted under     
subsection 7a7 that--  7#a7 recommends a
 particular ,n#aa dialing code or other 
covered dialing code to be used for a   
national suicide prevention and mental  
health crisis hotline system2  7#b7     
outlines the logistics of designating   
such a dialing code2  7#c7 estimates the
 costs associated with designating such 
a dialing code1 including--  7,a7 the   
costs incurred by service providers1    

including-- 7i7 translation changes in  
the network2 and  7ii7 cell site        
analysis and reprogramming by wireless  
carriers2 and  7,b7 the costs incurred  
by ,states and localities2  7#d7        
provides legislative recommendations for
 designating such a dialing code2  7#e7 
provides a cost-benefit analysis        
comparing the recommended dialing code  
with the current ,national ,suicide     
,prevention ,lifeline2 and  7#f7 makes  
other recommendations for improving the 
national suicide prevention lifeline    
system generally1 which may include--   
7,a7 increased funding2  7,b7 increased 
public education and awareness2 and     
7,c7 improved infrastructure and        
operations4