The Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary, shall maintain the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline program (referred to in this section as the “program”), authorized under section 290bb–32 of this title and in effect prior to December 13, 2016.

In maintaining the program, the activities of the Secretary shall include—

(1) coordinating a network of crisis centers across the United States for providing suicide prevention and crisis intervention services to individuals seeking help at any time, day or night;

(2) maintaining a suicide prevention hotline to link callers to local emergency, mental health, and social services resources; and

(3) consulting with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that veterans calling the suicide prevention hotline have access to a specialized veterans’ suicide prevention hotline.

To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $7,198,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022.

(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title V, § 520E–3, as added Pub. L. 114–255, div. B, title IX, § 9005, Dec. 13, 2016, 130 Stat. 1239.)