Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) voted this week to approve a bill aimed at studying the feasibility of creating a three digit suicide prevention hotline number.
According to the House Roll Call, Thornberry voted in favor of House Bill 2345 - The National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act of 2017, on Monday. Thornberry joined an overwhelming bipartisan majority in approving the bill, 379-1. Congressman Justin Amash (R-Michigan) was the only vote against the proposal.
Under the bill, which was introduced by Representative Chris Stewart (R-Utah), officials with the Federal Communications Commission, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Department of Veterans Affairs will be asked to study the feasibility of creating a three digit (N11) number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. If the bill becomes law, the current number, 1-800-273-TALK, will also be studied to examine its success at assisting veterans.
Following passage of the bill, Stewart praised the vote, saying it could help prevention future suicides in the United States.
"The National Suicide Prevention Hotline Improvement Act is a bipartisan and commonsense piece of legislation that has the ability to save lives," Stewart said. "The current national hotline number is cumbersome and hard to recall. By creating a hotline dialing code that is short and easy to remember, we are taking an important step towards potentially averting tragedy."
This bill will not make any changes to the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, but will study the feasibility of making changes to the hotline.
