119-s1062

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1062 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 1062

 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 March 13, 2025

 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 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.

 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 Act''.

SEC. 2. SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE OF SELF-HARM BEHAVIORS PROGRAM.

 Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting 
after 

section 317V of such Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-24) the following:

``

SEC. 317W. SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE OF SELF-HARM BEHAVIORS 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 inform 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 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 evidence, 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 determined by the Director of 
 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
 ``

    (2) serving an Indian Tribe (as defined in 

section 4 of 
 the Indian Self-Determination and Education 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
 ``

    (3) located in a State with a high rate of coverage 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 ensure geographic 
distribution, taking into account the unique needs of rural 
communities, including--
 ``

    (1) communities with an incidence of individuals with 
 serious mental illness, demonstrated suicidal ideation or 
 behavior, or suicide rates that are above the national average, 
 as determined by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and 
 Substance Use;
 ``

    (2) communities with a shortage of prevention and 
 treatment services, as determined by the Assistant 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 participate 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
            (c) , 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 platform of the National Syndromic Surveillance 
 Program Early Notification of Community-Based Epidemics

    (ESSENCE) (or any successor platform);
 ``

    (2) the National Violent Death Reporting System (or any 
 successor platform), as appropriate; or
 ``

    (3) another appropriate surveillance program, including 
 such a program that collects data on suicides and self-harm 
 among special populations, such as members of the military and 
 veterans.
 ``
            (i) Rule of Construction Regarding Applicability of Privacy 
Protections.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or 
alter the application of Federal or State law relating to the privacy 
of information to 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 the Suicide Prevention Act, the Secretary shall 
 evaluate the suicide and self-harm syndromic surveillance 
 systems at the Federal, State, and local levels and submit a 
 report to Congress on the data collected under subsection

    (b) in a manner that prevents the disclosure of individually 
 identifiable information, at a minimum, consistent with all 
 applicable privacy laws and regulations.
 ``

    (2) Contents.--In addition to the data collected under 
 subsection

    (b) , 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 responses 
 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 $30,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2026 through 2030.''.

SEC. 3. GRANTS TO PROVIDE SELF-HARM AND SUICIDE PREVENTION SERVICES.

 Subpart 3 of part B of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 290bb-31 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``

SEC. 520O. GRANTS TO PROVIDE SELF-HARM AND SUICIDE PREVENTION 
 SERVICES.

 ``

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall award grants to hospital 
emergency departments to provide self-harm and suicide prevention 
services.
 ``

    (b) Activities Supported.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--A hospital emergency department 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 
 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 accordance 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 prevention 
 services, and providing any additional follow up 
 services and care identified as appropriate 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 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 subsection

    (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 department seeking a 
grant under subsection

    (a) shall submit an application to the Secretary 
at such time, in such manner, 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 Secretary shall develop 
 standards of practice for screening patients for self-harm and 
 suicide for purposes of carrying out subsection

    (b)

    (1)
            (C) .
 ``

    (2) Consultation.--The Secretary shall develop the 
 standards of practice described in paragraph

    (1) in 
 consultation with individuals and entities with expertise in 
 self-harm and suicide prevention, including public, private, 
 and nonprofit entities.
 ``

    (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--
 ``
            (i) the number of patients receiving--
 ``
            (I) screenings carried out at the 
 hospital emergency department;
 ``
            (II) short-term self-harm and 
 suicide prevention services at the 
 hospital emergency department; and
 ``
            (III) referrals to health care 
 facilities for the purposes of 
 receiving long-term self-harm and 
 suicide prevention;
 ``
            (ii) information on the adherence of the 
 hospital emergency department to the standards 
 of practice described in subsection

    (e)

    (1) ; and
 ``
            (iii) other information as the Secretary 
 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 Secretary shall submit to the 
 Committee on Health, Education, 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--
 ``
        (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 2026 through 2030.''.
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