PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Congressional Research Service
Version 53 · Passed House · Sep 21, 2020
Suicide Prevention Act
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish two grant programs to prevent self-harm and suicide.
First, HHS must award grants to state, local, and tribal health departments to expand surveillance of self-harm. In awarding these grants, HHS must prioritize recipients in areas that experience rates of nonfatal suicidal behavior that are above the national average and must take into account other factors such as the unique needs of rural communities. As a condition of receiving this funding, recipients must agree to share data on suicide and self-harm with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Second, HHS must award grants to hospital emergency departments for programs to prevent suicide attempts among patients after discharge, including programs for screening patients for self-harm and suicide and providing short-term preventive services, as appropriate. In addition, HHS must develop standards of practice for such screenings.
People & committees
Rep. Stewart, Chris [R-UT-2] · R–UT
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4633-4634)
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 5619.
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H4633-4635)
Mrs. Dingell moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 420.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 116-520.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 116-520.
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.5619 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.5619 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.5619 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.5619 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.