releases: https://www.gardner.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/gardner-statement-on-the-fccs-vote-to-move-forward-with-the-9-8-8-suicide-hotline
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.gardner.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/gardner-statement-on-the-fccs-vote-to-move-forward-with-the-9-8-8-suicide-hotline | Gardner Statement on the FCC’s Vote to Move Forward with the 9-8-8 Suicide Hotline | 2019-12-12 | 2019 | 2019-12 | Republican | House | CO | Cory Gardner | G000562 | www.gardner.senate.gov | legacy | Washington, D.C. U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), who is leading the bipartisan effort in the Senate to establish 9-8-8 as the national suicide prevention hotline, released the following statement today regarding the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) approval of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to designate 9-8-8 as the 3-digit number for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline. NOTE:Clickhereor the pictureabove to view Senator Gardner's remarks. Today the Federal Communications Commission took an important step in our efforts to establish 9-8-8 as the national suicide prevention hotline. This hotline will be critical to make sure that every American has access to mental health support with a number that's easy to remember in a time of crisis,said Senator Gardner.I am encouraged that the Senate Commerce Committee yesterday passed my legislation to provide oversight for the establishment of the three-digit hotline and look forward to its full consideration by the U.S. Senate. I applaud the FCC's action, and I will continue working with my colleagues to establish the 9-8-8 suicide hotline and ensure critical mental health support is three buttons away. Background: In 2018, Gardner voted for the National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act, which directed the Federal Communications Commission to evaluate using a three-digit dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. This August, the FCC released theirreport, which found that a national three-digit line would improve suicide prevention and recommended a simple number that Americans could dial in times of crisis: 9-8-8. In October, Senators Gardner, Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Jack Reed (D-RI) introduced S. 2661, theNational Suicide Hotline Designation Act, which designates 9-8-8 for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline and ensures states have the flexibility to strengthen local crisis call centers. The bill ensures states are able to collect fees for the line, similar to the way they do for the 911 emergency line, and requires reports to Congress to help ensure effectiveness and operability of the line. Nearly 50 mental health organizations and veterans supportorganizations announced their support and urged Congress to pass the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act. At a press conferencein November with Senator Gardner, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai announced the FCC would consider establishing 9-8-8 as the national suicide prevention hotline at their meeting on December 12, 2019. Yesterday, theSenate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation passedSenator Gardner's bipartisan bill to designate 9-8-8 as the national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline. ### Cory Gardner is a member of the U.S. Senate serving Colorado. He sits on the Energy & Natural Resources Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, the Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee, and is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |