[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 12, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H5034-H5036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         INDEXING NARCOTICS, FENTANYL, AND OPIOIDS ACT OF 2018

  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4284) to establish a Federal Coordinator within the 
Department of Health and Human Services, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4284

       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 ``Indexing Narcotics, 
     Fentanyl, and Opioids Act of 2018'' or the ``INFO Act''.

     SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER INFORMATION 
                   DASHBOARD.

       Title XVII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u 
     et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     section:

     ``SEC. 1711. ESTABLISHMENT OF SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER 
                   INFORMATION DASHBOARD.

       ``(a) In General.--Not later than six months after the date 
     of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Health and 
     Human Services shall, in consultation with the Director of 
     National Drug Control Policy, establish and periodically 
     update a public information dashboard that--
       ``(1) coordinates information on programs within the 
     Department of Health and Human Services related to the 
     reduction of opioid abuse and other substance use disorders;
       ``(2) provides access to publicly available data from other 
     Federal agencies; State, local, and Tribal governments; 
     nonprofit organizations; law enforcement; medical experts; 
     public health educators; and research institutions regarding 
     prevention, treatment, recovery, and other services for 
     opioid use disorder and other substance use disorders;
       ``(3) provides comparable data on substance use disorder 
     prevention and treatment strategies in different regions and 
     population of the United States;
       ``(4) provides recommendations for health care providers on 
     alternatives to controlled substances for pain management, 
     including approaches studied by the National Institutes of 
     Health Pain Consortium and the National Center for 
     Complimentary and Integrative Health; and
       ``(5) provides guidelines and best practices for health 
     care providers regarding treatment of substance use 
     disorders.

[[Page H5035]]

       ``(b) Controlled Substance Defined.--In this section, the 
     term `controlled substance' has the meaning given that term 
     in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 
     802).''.

     SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER COORDINATING 
                   COMMITTEE.

       (a) Establishment.--Not later than three months after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health 
     and Human Services (in this section referred to as the 
     ``Secretary'') shall, in consultation with the Director of 
     National Drug Control Policy, establish a committee, to be 
     known as the Interagency Substance Use Disorder Coordinating 
     Committee (in this section referred to as the ``Committee'' 
     ), to coordinate all efforts within the Department of Health 
     and Human Services concerning substance use disorder.
       (b) Membership.--
       (1) Federal members.--The following individuals shall be 
     the Federal members of the Committee:
       (A) The Secretary, who shall service as the Chair of the 
     Committee.
       (B) The Attorney General of the United States.
       (C) The Secretary of Labor.
       (D) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
       (E) The Secretary of Education.
       (F) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
       (G) The Commissioner of Social Security.
       (H) The Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance 
     Use.
       (I) The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention.
       (J) The Director of the National Institutes of Health and 
     the Directors of such national research institutes of the 
     National Institutes of Health as the Secretary determines 
     appropriate.
       (K) The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & 
     Medicaid Services.
       (L) The Director of National Drug Control Policy.
       (M) Representatives of other Federal agencies that serve 
     individuals with substance use disorder.
       (2) Non-federal members.--The Committee shall include a 
     minimum of 17 non-Federal members appointed by the Secretary, 
     of which--
       (A) at least two such members shall be an individual who 
     has received treatment for a diagnosis of an opioid use 
     disorder;
       (B) at least two such members shall be an individual who 
     has received treatment for a diagnosis of a substance use 
     disorder other than an opioid use disorder;
       (C) at least two such members shall be a State Alcohol and 
     Substance Abuse Director;
       (D) at least two such members shall be a representative of 
     a leading research, advocacy, or service organization for 
     adults with substance use disorder;
       (E) at least two such members shall--
       (i) be a physician, licensed mental health professional, 
     advance practice registered nurse, or physician assistant; 
     and
       (ii) have experience in treating individuals with opioid 
     use disorder or other substance use disorders;
       (F) at least one such member shall be a substance use 
     disorder treatment professional who is employed with an 
     opioid treatment program;
       (G) at least one such member shall be a substance use 
     disorder treatment professional who has research or clinical 
     experience in working with racial and ethnic minority 
     populations;
       (H) at least one such member shall be a substance use 
     disorder treatment professional who has research or clinical 
     mental health experience in working with medically 
     underserved populations;
       (I) at least one such member shall be a State-certified 
     substance use disorder peer support specialist;
       (J) at least one such member shall be a drug court judge or 
     a judge with experience in adjudicating cases related to 
     substance use disorder;
       (K) at least one such member shall be a law enforcement 
     officer or correctional officer with extensive experience in 
     interacting with adults with a substance use disorder; and
       (L) at least one such member shall be an individual with 
     experience providing services for homeless individuals and 
     working with adults with a substance use disorder.
       (c) Terms.--
       (1) In general.--A member of the Committee appointed under 
     subsection (b)(2) shall be appointed for a term of three 
     years and may be reappointed for one or more three-year 
     terms.
       (2) Vacancies.--A vacancy on the Committee shall be filled 
     in the same manner in which the original appointment was 
     made. Any individual appointed to fill a vacancy for an 
     unexpired term shall be appointed for the remainder of such 
     term and may serve after the expiration of such term until a 
     successor has been appointed.
       (d) Meetings.--The Committee shall meet not fewer than two 
     times each year.
       (e) Duties.--The Committee shall--
       (1) monitor opioid use disorder and other substance use 
     disorder research, services, and support and prevention 
     activities across all relevant Federal agencies, including 
     coordination of Federal activities with respect to opioid use 
     disorder and other substance use disorders;
       (2) identify and provide to the Secretary recommendations 
     for improving Federal grants and programs for the prevention 
     and treatment of, and recovery from, opioid use disorder and 
     other substance use disorders;
       (3) review substance use disorder prevention and treatment 
     strategies in different regions and populations in the United 
     States and evaluate the extent to which Federal substance use 
     disorder prevention and treatment strategies are aligned with 
     State and local substance use disorder prevention and 
     treatment strategies;
       (4) make recommendations to the Secretary regarding any 
     appropriate changes with respect to the activities and 
     strategies described in paragraphs (1) through (3);
       (5) make recommendations to the Secretary regarding public 
     participation in decisions relating to opioid use disorder 
     and other substance use disorders and the process by which 
     public feedback can be better integrated into such decisions; 
     and
       (6) make recommendations to ensure that opioid use disorder 
     and other substance use disorder research, services, and 
     support and prevention activities of the Department of Health 
     and Human Services and other Federal agencies are not 
     unnecessarily duplicative.
       (f) Annual Report.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the 
     life of the Committee, the Committee shall publish on the 
     public information dashboard established under section 2(a) a 
     report summarizing the activities carried out by the 
     Committee pursuant to subsection (e), including any findings 
     resulting from such activities.
       (2) Recommendation for committee extension.--After the 
     publication of the second report of the Committee under 
     paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
     recommendation on whether or not the operations of the 
     Committee should continue after the termination date 
     described in subsection (i).
       (g) Working Groups.--The Committee may establish working 
     groups for purposes of carrying out the duties described in 
     subsection (e). Any such working group shall be composed of 
     members of the Committee (or the designees of such members) 
     and may hold such meetings as are necessary to enable the 
     working group to carry out the duties delegated to the 
     working group.
       (h) Federal Advisory Committee Act.--The Federal Advisory 
     Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Committee 
     only to the extent that the provisions of such Act do not 
     conflict with the requirements of this section.
       (i) Sunset.--The Committee shall terminate on the date that 
     is six years after the date on which the Committee is 
     established under subsection (a).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Walden) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oregon.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Oregon?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  1445

  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 4284, 
the Indexing Narcotics, Fentanyl, and Opioid Act of 2018, more easily 
known as the INFO Act.
  This legislation will facilitate the linking of all nationwide health 
efforts and strategies to combat the opioid crisis into one place, as 
well as create an interagency substance abuse disorder coordinating 
committee to review and coordinate research, services, and prevention 
activities across all relevant Federal agencies. This is going to be a 
tremendous resource for patients, families, and local communities and 
their leaders. I want to thank my colleague from Ohio (Mr. Latta) for 
leading this important initiative.
  I think all of us in our districts, Mr. Speaker, have heard directly 
from people saying: I don't know what resources are there at the 
Federal level. I don't know where to go access it. Can't you do 
something?
  That is why Mr. Latta, who chairs our Subcommittee on Digital 
Commerce and Consumer Protection, rose to the challenge and put 
together this piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta) 
to discuss the importance of this legislation.
  Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the committee for all 
his hard work and for especially shepherding these 57 bills that we got 
through committee on the opioid crisis

[[Page H5036]]

that we have in this country. I thank him for that and for helping on 
this piece of legislation today.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4284, the INFO Act, the 
Indexing Narcotics, Fentanyl, and Opioids Act.
  In Ohio, we have experienced some of the worst of the crisis. In a 
12-month period ending June 30 of last year, 5,232 lives were lost due 
to overdoses. That is a 39 percent increase from the previous year and 
three times the national average.
  In talking with my constituents across the district, I have learned 
that to make a real difference in the lives of those who are struggling 
with addiction, we need to get more data, information, and funding into 
the hands of the right people. That is exactly what the INFO Act does.
  My bill creates a public dashboard consisting of comprehensive 
information and data on nationwide efforts to combat the opioid crisis. 
Establishing a one-stop shop makes it easier for advocates, healthcare 
providers, and State and local governments to access Federal funding, 
data on opioid abuse, and the best practices for treatment.
  Due to this crisis, we are losing 115 Americans a day across this 
Nation. The time to act is now. I urge my colleagues to support the 
passage of this legislation.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4284, the Indexing Narcotics, 
Fentanyl, and Opioids Act, or INFO Act.
  The opioid crisis is a complex issue that requires an all-hands-on-
deck approach. Communities across the Nation are being ravaged by this 
crisis, and many are working hard to find ways to stop it.
  With 115 people dying every day from opioid overdoses, communities 
could benefit from sharing effective interventions to decrease opioid 
use disorder and overdose deaths and having one-stop access to Federal 
resources, including grant funding announcements, available to support 
their efforts.
  The INFO Act would create a central repository for information on 
programs within HHS related to the reduction of opioid abuse and other 
substance use disorders, as well as how communities nationwide are 
tackling the opioid epidemic. In this way, folks across the country can 
work together and learn from one another.
  This easily accessible, electronic public dashboard would allow for 
strategies to combat this crisis to be shared and served as a resource 
to patients, loved ones of those with opioid use disorder, and local 
communities.
  The INFO Act also would establish an interagency substance use 
disorder coordinating committee to help coordinate response efforts to 
the opioid epidemic within HHS.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I, too, would encourage our colleagues to 
support this fine piece of legislation and, again, commend its authors 
for doing the good work that will help so many in our districts.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 4284, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to 
establish a substance use disorder information dashboard within the 
Department of Health and Human Services, and for other purposes.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________