Barrasso, Luján bill would improve efficiency of 988 lifeline

CHEYENNE (WNE) — On Wednesday, U.S. Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., introduced bipartisan legislation to improve geolocation data and increase the efficiency of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Last year, the Federal Communications Commission took action to require service providers to route phone calls to 988 to the nearest call center based on geographic location. 

In July of this year, the FCC took steps to require geo-routing for texts. Previously, calls and texts were routed based on the phone’s area code, often resulting in a geographic mismatch.

If passed into law, the 988 Lifeline Location Improvement Act would build on these actions by creating a multi-stakeholder advisory committee tasked with studying policy, legal, technical and financial challenges associated with expanding geolocation data. The advisory committee would help identify ways local call centers can more efficiently dispatch emergency services to a caller in need.

“The enactment of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline has helped save lives in Wyoming and across the country. Our focus should always be on finding ways to provide timely and helpful resources for Americans when they need them the most,” Barrasso said in a news release.

This story was published on Nov. 21, 2025.