[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3557 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3557

   To reduce deaths occurring from overdoses of drugs or controlled 
                              substances.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 22, 2006

  Mr. Durbin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To reduce deaths occurring from overdoses of drugs or controlled 
                              substances.

    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 ``Drug Overdose Reduction Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 
        that 28,723 deaths in the United States in 2003 were 
        attributable to drug-induced causes.
            (2) Deaths resulting from drug overdoses have increased 540 
        percent between 1980 and 1999.
            (3) According to the Federal Drug Abuse Warning Network, 
        most drug-induced deaths involve multiple drugs.
            (4) An increase in the number of deaths attributable to 
        heroin mixed with fentanyl, a narcotic considered 50 to 100 
        times more potent than morphine, has been documented in 2005 
        and 2006.
            (5) An estimated 3,000,000 individuals in the United States 
        have serious drug problems.
            (6) The damage caused by drug use is not limited to drug 
        abusers. The collateral damage from drug use is enormous, and 
        drug abuse costs society over $60,000,000,000 in social costs 
        and lost productivity.
            (7) Community-based programs working with high-risk 
        populations have successfully prevented deaths from drug 
        overdoses through education and access to effective reversal 
        agents, such as naloxone.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Controlled substance.--The term ``controlled 
        substance'' has the meaning given the term in section 102 of 
        the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802).
            (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
            (3) Drug.--The term ``drug'' has the meaning given the term 
        in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 
        U.S.C. 321)).
            (4) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means an 
        entity that is a State, local, or tribal government, or a 
        private nonprofit organization.

SEC. 4. OVERDOSE PREVENTION GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Program Authorized.--From amounts appropriated under this 
section for a fiscal year, the Director shall award grants or 
cooperative agreements to eligible entities to enable the eligible 
entities to reduce deaths occurring from overdoses of drugs or 
controlled substances.
    (b) Application.--
            (1) In general.--An eligible entity desiring a grant or 
        cooperative agreement under this section shall submit to the 
        Director an application at such time, in such manner, and 
        containing such information as the Director may require.
            (2) Contents.--The application described in paragraph (1) 
        shall include--
                    (A) a description of the activities the eligible 
                entity will carry out if the entity receives funds 
                under this section;
                    (B) a demonstration that the eligible entity has 
                the capacity to carry out the activities described in 
                subparagraph (A); and
                    (C) a certification that the eligible entity meets 
                all State licensure or certification requirements 
                necessary to carry out the activities.
    (c) Priority.--In awarding grants or cooperative agreements under 
subsection (a), the Director shall give priority to eligible entities 
that are public health agencies or community-based organizations and 
that have expertise in preventing deaths occurring from overdoses of 
drugs or controlled substances in populations at high risk of such 
deaths.
    (d) Eligible Activities.--An eligible entity receiving a grant or 
cooperative agreement under this section shall carry out 1 or more of 
the following activities:
            (1) Training first responders, people affected by drug 
        abuse, and law enforcement and corrections officials on the 
        effective response to individuals who have overdosed on drugs 
        or controlled substances.
            (2) Implementing programs to provide overdose prevention, 
        recognition, treatment, or response to individuals in need of 
        such services.
            (3) Evaluating, expanding, or replicating a program 
        described in paragraph (1) or (2) that exists as of the date 
        the application is submitted.
    (e) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the last day of the grant 
or cooperative agreement period, each eligible entity receiving a grant 
or cooperative agreement under this section shall prepare and submit a 
report to the Director describing the results of the program supported 
under this section.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2007 and 2008, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
of the fiscal years 2009 through 2011.

SEC. 5. REDUCING OVERDOSE DEATHS.

    (a) Data Collection.--The Director shall annually compile and 
publish data on the deaths occurring from overdoses of drugs or 
controlled substances for the preceding year.
    (b) Plan to Reduce Overdose Deaths.--Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall develop a plan to 
reduce the number of deaths occurring from overdoses of drugs or 
controlled substances and shall submit the plan to Congress. The plan 
shall include--
            (1) an identification of the barriers to obtaining accurate 
        data regarding the number of deaths occurring from overdoses of 
        drugs or controlled substances;
            (2) an identification of the barriers to implementing more 
        effective overdose prevention strategies; and
            (3) recommendations for such legislative or administrative 
        action that the Director considers appropriate.
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