Suicide Prevention

The new National Strategy for Suicide Prevention should include quantitative outcomes goals against which progress can be measured and which can inspire public-private coordination to prevent suicide and hold systems accountable for demonstrable progress.

Congress should pass the Barriers to Suicide Act, which directs the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to create a program to facilitate the installation of evidence-based suicide deterrents and establishes a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study to explore what types of structures attract suicide attempts.[1][2]

Congress should pass the Elder Justice Reauthorization and Modernization Act of 2023, which would reauthorize the Elder Justice Act and appropriate $250 million to address social isolation and loneliness for older adults.

Congress should authorize and fund the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Program (CSP)[1] so it can be expanded to all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and 18 tribal and territorial jurisdictions.[2]

To prevent suicides and other gun-related violence, Congress should pass legislation to require gun buyers to wait 7 to 10 days before accessing a gun they have purchased.