S.Amdt. 3102

SA 3102, submitted by Mrs. Gillibrand, aims to add a new section to the Public Health Service Act to establish a national first responders emergency hotline. This amendment is intended to be added to bill S. 2296.

The purpose of this addition is to provide the following for first responders, their families, or household members:

• Support services, including peer and emotional support, information, brief intervention, and resources and referrals for substance use disorder and mental and behavioral health.
• Accessibility, requiring the hotline to be toll-free, available 24/7, and offer both voice and text support via a separate, recognizable number.
• Qualified staffing, ensuring the hotline is staffed by first responder mental health services providers or culturally competent first responder peer specialists.

The amendment also adds requirements for the Secretary to:

• Coordinate and consult with the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, the Veterans Crisis Line, the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and existing first responder crisis organizations.
• Implement training standards, including at least 20 hours of foundation training and 8 hours of annual continuing education for staff.
• Conduct a public awareness campaign in coordination with Federal agencies like the Department of Justice and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
• Report to Congress annually on the effectiveness of the hotline, staffing levels, and a directory of referral entities.

To fund these activities, the amendment authorizes $10,000,000 for each fiscal year from 2026 through 2032.