[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 82 (Thursday, June 22, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6422-S6423]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. DURBIN:
S. 3557. A bill to reduce deaths occurring from overdoses of drugs or
controlled substances; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, on the first Monday and Tuesday of June,
14 people in Chicago died from an apparent overdose of heroin laced
with fentanyl. That brings to 74 the lives lost to heroin and fentanyl
in Cook County, IL, this year.
We know that abuse of prescription drugs is on the rise. The
manufacture of mind-altering substances is getting easier. Meanwhile,
Chicago first responders have treated more than 600 drug overdoses
since April. Today I am introducing the Drug Overdose Reduction Act to
strengthen and expand the work our communities are doing to prevent
overdose deaths from both prescription drug and illicit drug abuse.
The legislation authorizes funding to train first responders, law
enforcement officials and corrections officials on how to recognize and
respond to an overdose. Funding also would be available for drug
overdose prevention programs that provide direct services to people
most at risk of an overdose death.
The act would support the important work of organizations like the
Chicago Recovery Alliance, which works with a population of people at
high risk for overdose deaths. Dr. Sarz Maxwell, medical director for
the Alliance, said she knows of several people whose lives have been
saved by the consumer education the group provides.
These local outreach and education efforts may be the best tool we
have right now for saving lives that would otherwise be lost to drug
overdoses. By implementing the Drug Overdose Prevention Act, we can
avert the tragic deaths caused by the most recent wave of deadly
heroin.
One of the victims in Chicago was just 17 years old. Joseph graduated
from high school on Sunday and was found dead in the back of his car on
Tuesday.
Deaths like this are tragic for those who have died and their
families, but also for the high schools and communities they grew up
in. A Chicago police official was quoted in the New York Times saying
that it appeared the drug cocktail had killed the young man instantly.
Perhaps his death contributed to the decision at the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Administration 2 days later to issue an alert to
rehab centers and addiction specialists about the heroin mixed with
fentanyl.
I am encouraged that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration,
working with Chicago police, this week descended on what they believe
is the headquarters for local distribution of this deadly drug. I
commend the law enforcement officials who are cracking down on illicit
drug traffic in my home State of Illinois and across the country. Their
work is fundamental to a comprehensive response to senseless deaths due
to drug overdoses.
The time has come to put an end to these tragedies. I urge my
colleagues to join me in supporting the Drug Overdose Reduction Act to
bring resources to community-based efforts to prevent unnecessary
deaths by providing information about the dangers of drug abuse, how to
find help to break addictions and how to stay alive in the interim.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 3557
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
[[Page S6423]]
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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