988 LGBTQ+ Youth Access Act of 2025

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2826 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2826

   To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to dedicate 
sufficient resources for the support of LGBTQ+ youth seeking help from 
     the 9-8-8 suicide prevention hotline, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

           September 17 (legislative day, September 16), 2025

 Ms. Baldwin (for herself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to dedicate 
sufficient resources for the support of LGBTQ+ youth seeking help from 
     the 9-8-8 suicide prevention hotline, 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 ``988 LGBTQ+ Youth Access Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, 45 percent of high school students who seriously 
        considered attempting suicide in 2021 identified as LGBTQ+;
            (2) since its launch, the Specialized Services for LGBTQ+ 
        youth within the 988 Suicide Prevention and Crisis Lifeline 
        have received nearly 1,500,000 calls, texts, and chats, with an 
        average of 2,200 contacts per day as of May 2025; and
            (3) given that LGBTQ+ youth are four times more likely to 
        attempt suicide as compared to their peers, the Specialized 
        Services for LGBTQ+ youth are equipped with crucial training 
        addressing LGBTQ+ specific challenges and needs.

SEC. 3. SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE SERVICES FOR LGBTQ+ YOUTH.

    (a) In General.--Section 520E-3(b) of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 290bb-36c(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) dedicating sufficient resources, including 
        establishing, re-establishing, operating, and maintaining 
        specialized services (known as the Press 3 option or Integrated 
        Voice Response (IVR)), for the support of youth who are 
        lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning 
        (LGBTQ+) seeking help from the suicide prevention hotline.''.
    (b) Funding.--Section 520E-3(f) of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 290bb-36c(f)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
``Of the amounts appropriated under this subsection for a fiscal year, 
the Secretary shall reserve not less than 9 percent for carrying out 
subsection (b)(6).''.
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