[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1134 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1134
To address prescription opioid abuse and heroin use.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 29, 2015
Ms. Ayotte (for herself and Mr. Donnelly) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To address prescription opioid abuse and heroin use.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Heroin and Prescription Opioid Abuse
Prevention, Education, and Enforcement Act of 2015.''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.)
declares that many controlled substances have a useful and
legitimate medical purpose and are necessary to maintain the
health and general welfare of the people of the United States.
(2) Health care professionals, medical experts,
researchers, and scientists have found pain to be a major
national health problem.
(3) The responsible treatment of pain is a high priority
for our Nation and the needs of individuals with pain must be
taken into careful consideration when taking steps to prevent
prescription drug misuse and abuse.
(4) When no longer needed or wanted for legitimate pain
management or health treatment, prescription opioids are
susceptible to diversion. Prescription opioids also may be
abused by individuals who were not prescribed such drugs, or
misused by individuals not taking such drugs as directed.
(5) Approximately 4 out of 5 new heroin users report that
they became addicted to prescription opioids before they used
heroin for the first time.
(6) According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse,
heroin attaches to the same brain cell receptors as
prescription opioids.
(7) The low cost and high purity of currently available
heroin has contributed to an increase in heroin use across the
United States.
(8) More people are using heroin, and are using heroin at a
younger age. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports
that new heroin users numbered 142,000 in 2010, and increased
to 178,000 in 2011. In 2011, the average age at first use among
heroin abusers between 12 and 49 years was 22.1 years. In 2009,
the average age at first use among heroin abusers between 12
and 49 years was 25.5 years.
(9) According to the Department of Health and Human
Services, heroin use nationwide rose 79 percent between 2007
and 2012.
(10) Deaths from heroin overdose have significantly
increased in communities across the United States. According to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of
deaths involving heroin almost tripled between 2010 and 2013.
From 2010 to 2013, the number of heroin deaths rose from 3,036
to 8,257.
(11) The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant
Program under part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control
and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) is
critical to fighting the prescription opioid abuse and heroin
use epidemics, and should be reauthorized and fully funded.
SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENT OF BEST PRESCRIBING PRACTICES.
(a) Inter-Agency Task Force.--Not later than 120 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services (referred to in this section as the ``Secretary''), in
cooperation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of
Defense, and the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration,
shall convene a Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force
(referred to in this section as the ``task force'').
(b) Membership.--The task force shall be comprised of--
(1) representatives of--
(A) the Department of Health and Human Services,
including the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention;
(B) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
(C) the Department of Defense;
(D) the Drug Enforcement Administration;
(E) the Office of National Drug Control Policy; and
(F) the Institute of Medicine;
(2) the Director of the National Institutes of Health;
(3) physicians, dentists, and non-physician prescribers;
(4) pharmacists;
(5) experts in the fields of pain research and addiction
research;
(6) representatives of--
(A) pain management professional organizations;
(B) the mental health treatment community;
(C) the addiction treatment community; and
(D) pain advocacy groups; and
(7) other stakeholders, as the Secretary determines
appropriate.
(c) Duties.--The task force shall--
(1) not later than 180 days after the date on which the
task force is convened, develop best practices for pain
management and prescription pain medication prescribing
practices, taking into consideration--
(A) existing pain management research;
(B) recommendations from relevant conferences; and
(C) ongoing efforts at the State and local levels
and by medical professional organizations to develop
improved pain management strategies;
(2) solicit and take into consideration public comment on
the best practices developed under paragraph (1), amending such
best practices if appropriate; and
(3) develop a strategy for disseminating information about
the best practices developed under paragraphs (1) and (2) to
prescribers, pharmacists, State medical boards, and other
parties, as the Secretary determines appropriate.
(d) Limitation.--The task force shall not have rulemaking
authority.
(e) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date on which the
task force is convened under subsection (a), the task force shall
submit to Congress a report that includes--
(1) the strategy for disseminating best practices developed
under subsection (c);
(2) the results of a feasibility study on linking best
practices developed under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection
(c) to receiving and renewing registrations under section
303(f) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 823(f)); and
(3) recommendations on how to apply such best practices to
improve prescribing practices at medical facilities, including
medical facilities of the Veterans Health Administration.
SEC. 4. HAROLD ROGERS PRESCRIPTION DRUG MONITORING PROGRAM.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out the Harold
Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring Program established under the
Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002 (Public Law 107-77; 115 Stat. 748),
there is authorized to be appropriated $9,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2016 through 2020.
(b) GAO Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit
to Congress a report evaluating the effectiveness of the Harold Rogers
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program in reducing prescription drug
abuse, and, to the extent practicable, any corresponding increase or
decrease in the use of heroin.
SEC. 5. REAUTHORIZATION OF BYRNE JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM.
Section 508 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3758) is amended by striking ``2006
through 2012'' and inserting ``2016 through 2020''.
SEC. 6. AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
advance the education and awareness of the public, providers, patients,
and other appropriate stakeholders regarding the risk of abuse of
prescription opioid drugs if such products are not taken as prescribed.
(b) Drug-Free Media Campaign.--
(1) In general.--The Office of National Drug Control
Policy, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human
Services and the Attorney General, shall establish a national
drug awareness campaign.
(2) Requirements.--The national drug awareness campaign
under paragraph (1) shall--
(A) take into account the association between
prescription opioid abuse and heroin use;
(B) emphasize the similarities between heroin and
prescription opioids and the effects of heroin and
prescription opioids on the human body; and
(C) bring greater public awareness to the dangerous
effects of fentanyl when mixed with heroin or abused in
a similar manner.
(3) Available funds.--Funds for the national drug awareness
campaign may be derived from amounts appropriated to the Office
of National Drug Control Policy and otherwise available for
obligation and expenditure.
SEC. 7. NALOXONE DEMONSTRATION GRANTS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``eligible entity'' means a State, a unit of
local government, or a tribal government;
(2) the term ``first responder'' includes firefighters, law
enforcement officers, paramedics, emergency medical
technicians, and other individuals (including employees of
legally organized and recognized volunteer organizations,
whether compensated or not), who, in the course of professional
duties, respond to fire, medical, hazardous material, or other
similar emergencies; and
(3) the term ``opioid overdose reversal drug'' means a drug
that, when administered, reverses in whole or part the
pharmacological effects of an opioid overdose in the human
body.
(b) Program Authorized.--The Attorney General, in coordination with
the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy, may make grants to eligible
entities to create not more than 8 demonstration programs to allow
properly trained first responders to prevent prescription opioid and
heroin overdose death by administering an opioid overdose reversal drug
to an individual who has experienced overdose or who has been
determined to have likely experienced overdose.
(c) Application.--
(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
this section, an entity shall submit an application to the
Attorney General, at such time, in such manner, and accompanied
by such information as the Attorney General shall require,
and--
(A) that meets the criteria for selection under
paragraph (2); and
(B) that describes--
(i) the evidence-based methodology and
outcome measures that will be used to evaluate
the program funded with a grant under this
section, and specifically explain how such
measurements will provide valid measures of the
impact of the program;
(ii) how the program could be broadly
replicated if demonstrated to be effective;
(iii) how the eligible entity will
coordinate with their corresponding State
substance abuse agency to identify protocols
and resources that are available to victims and
families, including information on treatment
and recovery resources; and
(iv) how the demonstration program will
continue with State, local, or private funding
after the expiration of the grant.
(2) Criteria for selection.--The Attorney General may award
grants to eligible entities that demonstrate an institutional
need for technical support and lack existing infrastructure in
order to implement and train first responders to carry out a
demonstration program under paragraph (b).
(3) Priority consideration.--In awarding grants under this
section, the Attorney General shall give priority to an
eligible entity located in a State that provides civil
liability protection for first responders administering an
opioid overdose reversal drug to counteract opioid overdoses
by--
(A) enacting legislation that provides such civil
liability protection; and
(B) providing a certification by the attorney
general of the State that the attorney general has--
(i) reviewed any applicable civil liability
protection law to determine the applicability
of the law with respect to first responders who
may administer an opioid overdose reversal drug
to individuals reasonably believed to be
suffering from opioid overdose; and
(ii) concluded that the law described in
subparagraph (A) provides adequate civil
liability protection applicable to such
persons.
(d) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity shall use a grant received
under this section to--
(1) make an opioid overdose reversal drug, which may
include naloxone, available to be carried and administered by
first responders;
(2) train and provide resources for first responders, on
carrying and administrating such opioid overdose reversal drug
for the prevention of prescription opioid and heroin overdose
deaths; and
(3) establish processes, protocols, and mechanisms for
referral to treatment.
(e) Technical Support.--The Attorney General shall provide
individualized technical support, as requested, to grant recipients
under this section to assist with implementation of the demonstration
program.
(f) Grant Duration.--A demonstration project grant shall be for a
period of 3 years.
(g) Evaluation.--Following the first grant year, a recipient of a
grant awarded under this section shall report to the Attorney General
on an annual basis --
(1) the number of first responders equipped with an opioid
overdose reversal drug for the prevention of fatal prescription
opioid and heroin overdose;
(2) the number of prescription opioid and heroin overdoses
reversed by first responders;
(3) the number of calls for service related to prescription
opioid and heroin overdose; and
(4) the extent to which overdose victims and families
receive information about treatment services and available data
describing treatment admissions.
(h) Report to Congress.--The Attorney General shall submit an
annual report to the appropriate committees of Congress aggregating the
data received from the grant recipients and evaluating the outcomes
achieved by the demonstration projects funded under this section.
SEC. 8. OFFSET.
It is the sense of Congress that the amounts expended to carry out
this Act and the amendments made by this Act should be offset by a
corresponding reduction in Federal non-defense discretionary spending.
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