Senate Approves Amendment to Up Funding for National Suicide Prevention Hotline
The Senate voted 95-0 Tuesday to adopt an amendment to the FY 2019 Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services and Education “minibus” appropriations legislative package (HR-6157) that would increase funding for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline by $2.8 million. The…
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amendment, led by Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., draws the funding from the amount allocated to substance abuse treatment programs. A week earlier, President Donald Trump signed the National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act (HR-2345), which directs the FCC to work to designate a new national three-digit dialing code in the style of 911 for a mental health crisis and suicide prevention hotline (see 1808140037). The underlying HR-6157, as modified by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., includes $445 million in annual funding for the CPB through FY 2021 and $20 million for FY 2019 for CPB's annual interconnection and infrastructure account. Senate Appropriations in June advanced its FY 2019 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education budget bill, which included the CPB funding (see 1806280049). The House Appropriations Committee voted in July to advance its FY 2019 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill (HR-6470) with identical CPB funding (see 1807120031).