[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.
                                 <all>