Legislation designating the three-digit code 988 as the universal, hard-to-forget phone number people in the U.S. can dial to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is moving to the president’s desk for signature.
The House of Representatives on Monday passed the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, which the Senate passed in May. The bill builds on a many months-long effort that involves the Federal Communications Commission—and ultimately aims to help save lives by making it easier for individuals to remember how to access mental health support they need.
The newly assigned hotline will also include the Veterans Crisis Line for veteran-specific mental health support.
“In America, we lose about 45,000 people every year to suicide, including more than 6,100 veterans, making it one of the leading causes of death in this country,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., one of the bills sponsors, said in a statement. “We need to do everything we can to prevent suicide and that means improving the tools we have to help people who are suffering from depression or other mental health concerns.”
With Baldwin, Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Col., Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., introduced the bill in 2019 and companion legislation was later put forward in the House by Reps. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, and Seth Moulton, D-Mass. Gardner’s press release on its passage notes that this now comes at a time when “calls to the mental health crisis line in Colorado have spiked 48 percent ..
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