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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4640 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4640
To amend the Public Health Service Act to award grants to eligible
crisis centers to provide follow-up services to individuals receiving
suicide prevention and crisis intervention services, to amend the
Communications Act of 1934 to improve the accessibility of 9-8-8, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 21, 2026
Mr. Padilla (for himself, Mr. Tillis, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. King, Mrs.
Shaheen, and Mr. Blumenthal) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to award grants to eligible
crisis centers to provide follow-up services to individuals receiving
suicide prevention and crisis intervention services, to amend the
Communications Act of 1934 to improve the accessibility of 9-8-8, 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 ``9-8-8 Connect Act''.
SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR FOLLOW-UP SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS RECEIVING SUICIDE
PREVENTION AND CRISIS INTERVENTION SERVICES.
Title V of the Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting
after section 520E-4 (42 U.S.C. 290bb-36d) the following:
``SEC. 520E-5. FOLLOW-UP SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS RECEIVING SUICIDE
PREVENTION AND CRISIS INTERVENTION SERVICES.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Assistant
Secretary, shall award grants to eligible crisis centers to provide
follow-up services to individuals receiving suicide prevention and
crisis intervention services.
``(b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to seek a grant under this
section, a crisis center shall be a member of the network of crisis
centers coordinated under section 520E-3(b)(1).
``(c) Selection.--The Secretary shall select recipients of grants
under this section based on the relative needs, including capacity and
service gaps, of the eligible crisis centers applying for such grants.
``(d) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary shall provide technical
assistance to recipients of grants under this section regarding best
practices for the implementation of services through such grants.
``(e) Use of Funds.--
``(1) In general.--A crisis center receiving a grant under
this section shall use the grant to provide follow-up services
to individuals who directly contact the 9-8-8 Suicide and
Crisis Lifeline (including by call, text, or chat) and who are
identified by the crisis center as being at risk of suicide or
experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis.
``(2) Follow-up services.--Follow-up services referred to
in paragraph (1)--
``(A) may include--
``(i) check-ins to assess well-being and
level of risk;
``(ii) outreach to ensure engagement in
services and supports, in coordination with
mobile crisis service providers if involved;
``(iii) collaboration with family,
caregivers, and natural social supports; and
``(iv) referrals based on the needed level
of care; and
``(B) shall be provided only to individuals
described in paragraph (1), consistent with subsection
(f).
``(f) Informed Consent and Privacy Protections.--
``(1) In general.--A crisis center receiving a grant under
this section may provide follow-up services to an individual
only after obtaining the informed consent of such individual.
``(2) Elements of consent.--In obtaining informed consent
under paragraph (1), the crisis center shall clearly and
conspicuously disclose--
``(A) the nature, scope, and purpose of follow-up
services;
``(B) the types of communications that may be used;
``(C) the duration and frequency of such follow-up;
and
``(D) the individual's right to decline or withdraw
consent at any time without affecting access to crisis
services.
``(3) Limitation.--Follow-up services under this section
may not include the sharing of personally identifiable
information with third parties without the express, written,
and revocable consent of the individual, except as otherwise
required by Federal or State law.
``(4) No unintended interventions.--A crisis center shall
ensure that follow-up services are conducted in a manner that
does not result in involuntary or coercive interventions absent
imminent risk.
``(5) Guidance.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting through the
Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, shall
develop and disseminate model national standards for informed
consent and privacy protections specific to follow-up services
under this section, consistent with applicable Federal and
State privacy laws, including the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act of 1996.
``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated $30,000,000 for fiscal year
2026, to remain available until expended.''.
SEC. 3. 9-8-8 IMPROVEMENT.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) 9-8-8.--The term ``9-8-8'' means 9-8-8, as designated
as the universal telephone number within the United States for
the purpose of the national suicide prevention and mental
health crisis hotline system under section 251(e)(4) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 251(e)(4)).
(2) Commercial mobile service.--The term ``commercial
mobile service'' has the meaning given the term in section
332(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)).
(3) Non-service-initialized handset.--The term ``non-
service-initialized handset'' has the meaning given the term in
section 9.10(o)(3)(i) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations,
or any successor regulation.
(b) Transmission of All Calls and Texts.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 270 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission
shall promulgate regulations to ensure that each provider of
commercial mobile service transmits all calls and text messages
made or sent to 9-8-8, including a call or text message that
originates from a non-service-initialized handset (if the call
or text message originates on a phone using a compliant radio
frequency protocol of the provider).
(2) Implementation.--A provider of commercial mobile
service shall comply with the regulations promulgated under
paragraph (1) not later than 1 year after the date on which the
regulations are promulgated.
(c) Configuration of Multi-Line Telephone Systems for Direct
Dialing.--
(1) In general.--Section 721 of the Communications Act of
1934 (47 U.S.C. 623) is amended--
(A) in the section heading, by inserting ``and 9-8-
8'' after ``9-1-1'';
(B) in subsection (a), by inserting ``or 9-8-8''
after ``9-1-1''; and
(C) in subsection (b), by inserting ``or 9-8-8''
after ``9-1-1''.
(2) Applicability.--
(A) In general.--The amendments made by paragraph
(1) shall apply to actions occurring on and after the
date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act.
(B) Exception.--The amendment made by paragraph
(1)(C) shall not apply to the management or operation
of a multi-line telephone system installed before the
date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, if the system is not able to be configured to
satisfy the requirements of the amendment, without an
improvement to the hardware or software of the system.
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