II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3351 To direct the Director of the National Science Foundation to support multi- disciplinary research on the science of suicide, and to advance the knowl- edge and understanding of issues that may be associated with several aspects of suicide including intrinsic and extrinsic factors related to areas such as wellbeing, resilience, and vulnerability. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 27, 2020 Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Ms. ROSEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To direct the Director of the National Science Foundation to support multidisciplinary research on the science of suicide, and to advance the knowledge and understanding of issues that may be associated with several aspects of suicide including intrinsic and extrinsic factors related to areas such as wellbeing, resilience, and vulnerability. 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 ‘‘Advancing Research 4 to Prevent Suicide Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Feb 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3351.IS S3351 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3351 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) The rate of Americans dying by suicide is 3 on the rise, increasing 10.7 to 14.0 deaths per 4 100,000 people from 2001 to 2017. 5 (2) Suicide is the tenth-leading cause of death 6 among people in the United States and the second- 7 leading cause of death for young people between the 8 ages of 15 and 34. 9 (3) The National Science Foundation funds re- 10 search that is improving our basic understanding of 11 factors with potential relevance to suicide, including 12 potential relevance to prevention and treatment. 13 (4) Despite progress in mental health research, 14 current gaps exist in scientific understanding and 15 basic knowledge of human neural, genetic, cognitive, 16 perceptual, behavioral, social, and environmental fac- 17 tors with potential relevance to suicide. 18 SEC. 3. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION RESEARCH. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 20 Science Foundation, in consultation with the Director of 21 the National Institutes of Health and the Director of the 22 National Institute of Mental Health, where appropriate, 23 shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, award 24 grants on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis to institu- 25 tions of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Feb 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3351.IS S3351 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3351 IS Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) (or con- 1 sortia of such institutions) to support multidisciplinary, 2 fundamental research with potential relevance to suicide, 3 including potential relevance to prevention and treatment, 4 including— 5 (1) basic understanding of human social behav- 6 ior; 7 (2) the neural basis of human cognition; 8 (3) basic understanding of cognitive, linguistic, 9 social, cultural, and biological processes related to 10 human development across the lifespan; 11 (4) basic understanding of perceptual, motor, 12 and cognitive processes, and their interaction, in 13 typical human behavior; and 14 (5) basic understanding of the relevance of drug 15 and alcohol abuse. 16 (b) APPLICATIONS FROM EARLY CAREER RE- 17 SEARCHERS.—To promote the development of early career 18 researchers, in awarding funds under subsection (a), the 19 Director of the National Science Foundation shall encour- 20 age applications submitted by early career researchers, in- 21 cluding doctoral students or postdoctoral researchers. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Feb 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3351.IS S3351 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS