Text of US HB 5434 (2025)

I 119TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5434 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 17, 2025 Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI (for himself, Mr. LAWLER, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Mr. MOULTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘988 LGBTQ+ Youth 4 Access Act of 2025’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Sep 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5434.IH H5434 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 5434 IH (1) according to the Centers for Disease Con- 1 trol and Prevention, 45 percent of high school stu- 2 dents who seriously considered attempting suicide in 3 2021 identified as LGBTQ+; 4 (2) since its launch, Specialized Services for 5 LGBTQ+ youth within the 988 Suicide Prevention 6 and Crisis Lifeline have received over 1,500,000 7 calls, texts, and chats, with an average of 2,200 con- 8 tacts per day as of May 2025; and 9 (3) given that LGBTQ+ youth are four times 10 more likely to attempt suicide as compared to their 11 peers, Specialized Services for LGBTQ+ youth are 12 equipped with crucial training addressing LGBTQ+ 13 specific challenges and needs. 14 SEC. 3. SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE SERVICES FOR 15 LGBTQ+ YOUTH. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 520E–3(b) of the Public 17 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–36c(b)) is amend- 18 ed— 19 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 20 end; 21 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 22 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 23 (3) by adding at the end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Sep 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5434.IH H5434 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 5434 IH ‘‘(6) dedicating sufficient resources, including 1 establishing, re-establishing, operating, and main- 2 taining specialized services (known as the Press 3 3 option or Integrated Voice Response (IVR)), for the 4 support of youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, 5 transgender, queer, or questioning (LGBTQ+) seek- 6 ing help from the suicide prevention hotline.’’. 7 (b) FUNDING.—Section 520E–3(f) of such Act (42 8 U.S.C. 290bb–36c(f)) is amended by adding at the end 9 the following: ‘‘Of the amounts appropriated under this 10 subsection for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve not 11 less than 9 percent for carrying out subsection (b)(6).’’. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Sep 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5434.IH H5434 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB