[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3500 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3500

  To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct 
programs to address the usage of illicit drugs, particularly fentanyl, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 25, 2018

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct 
programs to address the usage of illicit drugs, particularly fentanyl, 
                        and for other purposes.

    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 ``Surveillance and Testing of Opioids 
to Prevent Fentanyl Deaths Act of 2018'' or the ``STOP Fentanyl Deaths 
Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORIES TO DETECT FENTANYL.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in 
this section referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall establish a 
program to award grants to Federal, State, and local agencies to 
support the establishment or operation of public health laboratories to 
detect fentanyl, its analogues, and other synthetic opioids, as 
described in subsection (b).
    (b) Standards.--The Secretary, in consultation with the Director of 
the National Institute of Standards and Technology, shall--
            (1) develop standards for effectively handling and testing 
        fentanyl, its analogues, and other synthetic opioids;
            (2) develop--
                    (A) fentanyl and fentanyl analogue reference 
                materials, quality control standards, and protocols to 
                calibrate instrumentation for clinical diagnostics and 
                post-mortem surveillance; and
                    (B) portable testing devices utilized by law 
                enforcement and public health officials; and
            (3) include in the standards developed pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) procedures for encountering new and emerging 
        synthetic opioid formulations and report those findings to 
        Federal, State, and local public health laboratories.
    (c) Laboratories.--The Secretary shall require grantees under 
subsection (a) to--
            (1) follow the standards established under subsection (b) 
        and be capable of providing systematic and routine laboratory 
        testing of drugs for the purposes of obtaining and 
        disseminating public health information to Federal, State, and 
        local public health officials, laboratories, and other entities 
        as the Secretary determines appropriate;
            (2) work with law enforcement agencies and public health 
        authorities, as practicable, to develop real-time information 
        on the purity and movement of fentanyl, its analogues, and 
        other synthetic opioids;
            (3) assist State and local law enforcement agencies in 
        testing seized drugs when State and local forensic laboratories 
        request additional assistance;
            (4) provide early warning information and advice to 
        Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and public 
        health authorities of potential significant changes in the 
        supply of fentanyl, its analogues, and other synthetic opioids;
            (5) provide biosurveillance for non-fatal exposures to 
        fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and other synthetic opioids; and
            (6) provide diagnostic testing for such non-fatal exposures 
        to emergency personnel.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2019 through 2023.

SEC. 3. ENHANCED FENTANYL SURVEILLANCE.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention shall enhance its drug surveillance program by--
            (1) expanding its surveillance program to include all 50 
        States and the territories of the United States;
            (2) increasing and accelerating the collection of data on 
        fentanyl, its analogues, other synthetic opioids, and new 
        emerging drugs of abuse, including related overdose data from 
        medical examiners and drug treatment admissions; and
            (3) utilizing available and emerging information on 
        fentanyl, its analogues, other synthetic opioids, and new 
        emerging drugs of abuse, including information from--
                    (A) the National Drug Early Warning System;
                    (B) State and local public health authorities; and
                    (C) Federal, State, and local public health 
                laboratories.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2019 through 2023.
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