Sponsors (4)
The bill strengthens cybersecurity, reporting, and accountability for the 9-8-8 Lifeline to make crisis access more reliable and private, but it imposes costs and administrative burdens on local crisis centers and could yield uneven privacy protections if key safeguards remain vague.
People who call the 9-8-8 crisis line (including people with disabilities and those with chronic conditions) will get more reliable service and stronger protection against service disruptions and data breaches, improving safety in emergencies.
Network administrators and crisis centers will have clearer incident-reporting and accountability rules, enabling faster detection and remediation of cyber incidents and better protection of callers' privacy.
Congress will receive an independent GAO study within 180 days assessing cybersecurity risks and options to strengthen the Lifeline, giving lawmakers evidence to guide improvements.
Local crisis centers and hospital IT/staff may need to divert time to meet new reporting, monitoring, and remediation duties, reducing time available for direct crisis counseling and potentially harming service delivery.
Network administrators and crisis centers will face additional compliance costs to implement monitoring, reporting, and vulnerability-remediation requirements.
Vague language about reporting timelines (e.g., 'reasonable amount of time') could lead to uneven implementation across jurisdictions, leaving caller data protection inconsistent.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires 9-8-8 Lifeline network and participating crisis centers to remediate known cybersecurity vulnerabilities, report incidents to the Assistant Secretary, and directs GAO to study 9-8-8 cybersecurity risks within 180 days.
Official title: To amend title V of the Public Health Service Act to secure the suicide prevention lifeline from cybersecurity incidents, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 4, 2025 by Jay Obernolte · Last progress February 4, 2025
Requires the federally supported 9-8-8 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network and participating local/regional crisis centers to take steps to eliminate known cybersecurity vulnerabilities and to report discovered or reported cybersecurity incidents and vulnerabilities to the Assistant Secretary. Also directs the Government Accountability Office to study cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities for the 9-8-8 Lifeline and deliver a report to two House and Senate committees within 180 days of enactment.