[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 12, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H5069-H5071]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PEER SUPPORT COMMUNITIES OF RECOVERY ACT
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5587) to amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize
certain recovery services grants to be used to establish regional
technical assistance centers, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5587
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 ``Peer Support Communities of
Recovery Act''.
SEC. 2. BUILDING COMMUNITIES OF RECOVERY.
Section 547 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
290ee-2) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in the heading, by striking ``Definition'' and
inserting ``Definitions'';
(B) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``In
this section, the term `recovery community organization'
means an independent nonprofit organization that--'' and
inserting ``In this section:'';
(C) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as
subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and moving such
subparagraphs (as so redesignated) 2 ems to the right;
(D) by inserting before subparagraph (A) (as so
redesignated) the following:
``(1) Recovery community organization.--The term `recovery
community organization' means an independent nonprofit
organization that--''; and
[[Page H5070]]
(E) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
``(A) a national nonprofit entity focused on substance use
disorder with a network of local affiliates and partners that
are geographically and organizationally diverse; or
``(B) a nonprofit organization--
``(i) focused on substance use disorder;
``(ii) established by individuals in personal or family
recovery; and
``(iii) serving prevention, treatment, recovery, payor,
faith-based, and criminal justice stakeholders in the
implementation of local addiction and recovery
initiatives.'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking ``The Secretary shall award grants to
recovery community organizations'' and inserting ``The
Secretary--
``(1) shall award grants to recovery community
organizations'';
(B) by striking ``services.'' and inserting ``services and
allow such organizations to use such grant funds to carry out
the activities described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of
subsection (c)(2); and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) may award grants to eligible entities for purposes of
establishing regional technical assistance centers, in
accordance with subsection (c)(2)(D).'';
(3) by striking subsection (c);
(4) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections
(c) and (d), respectively;
(5) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``shall be used'' and
inserting ``to a recovery community organization shall be
used'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), in the matter preceding clause
(i), by inserting before ``build'' the following: ``in the
case of a grant awarded to a recovery community
organization,'';
(ii) in subparagraph (B)--
(I) by inserting before ``reduce'' the following: ``in the
case of a grant awarded to a recovery community
organization,''; and
(II) by striking ``and'' at the end;
(iii) in subparagraph (C)--
(I) by inserting before ``conduct'' the following: ``in the
case of a grant awarded to a recovery community
organization,''; and
(II) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``;
and''; and
(iv) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) in the case of a grant awarded to an eligible entity,
provide for the establishment of regional technical
assistance centers to provide regional technical assistance
for the following:
``(i) Implementation of regionally driven, peer-delivered
addiction recovery support services before, during, after, or
in conjunction with addiction treatment.
``(ii) Establishment of recovery community organizations.
``(iii) Establishment of recovery community centers.''; and
(6) in subsection (d) (as so redesignated), by inserting
before the period the following: ``, and $15,000,000 for each
of fiscal years 2019 through 2023''.
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 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.
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
June 12, 2018, on page H5070, the following appeared: Mr.
WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
insert extraneous materials in the RECORD on the bill. Mr.
Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
The online version has been corrected to read: Mr. WALDEN. Mr.
Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5
legislative days 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. Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield
myself such time as I may consume.
========================= END NOTE =========================
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 5587.
This is the Peer Support Communities of Recovery Act.
This legislation will support the peer support specialist workforce
by authorizing the Department of Health and Human Services to award
grants to peer support specialist organizations for the development and
expansion of recovery services. Peer support specialists, peer recovery
coaches, are health workers who provide treatment linkages to
individuals suffering from substance use disorder and support services
to those newly in recovery.
The gentleman from New Mexico (Ben Ray Lujan) and the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Johnson) have helped lead and put this in bipartisan terms
and bring it to us today. I appreciate their hard work on this
initiative.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5587, the Peer Support
Communities of Recovery Act.
I want to thank Mr. Lujan for sponsoring this bill, but also for
being the major sponsor of many of the pieces of legislation that we
have discussed today and we are passing today as part of this opioid
package.
This bill would amend the existing Communities of Recovery grant
program to allow SAMHSA to provide funding for regional technical
assistance centers. These centers would provide technical assistance
for the implementation of regionally driven, peer-delivered addiction
recovery support services, establishment of recovery community
organizations, and establishment of recovery community centers.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from New Mexico (Mr. Ben Ray Lujan).
Mr. BEN RAY LUJAN of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Pallone for
the time and for his leadership. I thank Chairman Walden and his team
for their work on this important piece of legislation, and, again,
special recognition of the work of Mr. Johnson and his staff of Ohio
for being so willing to work on this important policy and for the
incredible team that he has assembled as well.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Peer Support Communities
of Recovery Act.
Anyone who has heard me speak about opioids knows that I believe
strongly that to address this opioid epidemic, we must address our
Nation's workforce challenges. We have phenomenal providers in New
Mexico, and Mr. Johnson has them in Ohio, but what we both know is that
we don't have enough of them.
This is a numbers game. Unfortunately, the number of people with
substance use disorder far surpasses the number of providers and
treatment staff. That is where peer support recovery specialists come
in.
For those of you who haven't heard me talk about this or who did not
tune in to hear our Energy and Commerce Committee witnesses throughout
the hearing process, peer support recovery specialists are people who
have lived and experienced, sadly, the challenges with substance abuse,
who have fought against their addiction and are in recovery, and who
have received training to help others who are in the midst of the fight
now. Peer support recovery specialists provide immediate, ongoing
support and treatment linkages to individuals in recovery.
As Carlene Deal-Smith, a peer support recovery specialist of the
Totah Behavioral Health Authority program in Farmington, New Mexico,
testified:
Being able to connect to our patients both through our
shared heritage and shared struggles with addiction has
allowed me to function as a bridge between them, the staff,
and the community. This work has enabled me to be effective
as a community support worker and mentor. Most importantly, I
am living proof that recovery can happen.
These people provide an incredibly important service to the
community. Peer support programs also mean jobs for individuals who may
not otherwise find those opportunities. Ms. Deal-Smith explained to us
this job got her through hard times in her own journey with substance
use and made her feel proud to serve the community and help her people
in such an important way.
I am grateful that the House has acknowledged the importance of these
programs, and I am hopeful that the Senate will do the same very soon.
{time} 1800
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers on this matter
and would encourage my colleagues to support this legislation.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5587,
the Peer Support Communities of Recovery.
H.R. 5587 provides for the establishment of regional assistance
centers to implement addiction recovery support services throughout an
individual's treatment.
Everyday, over 100 people in the United States die from opioid
related drug overdoses, while over 11.5 million people misuse
prescription opioids.
In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report
cited 63,632 drug overdose deaths in the U.S., with a linearly
increasing trend.
In Texas, there were 1,375 opioid-related overdose deaths and within
Houston alone, there were 364 drug-related overdose deaths that
happened in 2016 according to the Treatment Center.
The U.S. is going through a serious drug abuse epidemic and the
resources available for recovering addicts are currently limited in
variability.
[[Page H5071]]
Peer support services are unique in that they allow for individuals
with common experiences to share their stories of recovery with the
people who might be seeking help.
Through self-help and shared support, people are able to offer
strength and hope to their peers, which allows for personal growth,
promotes wellness, and encourages recovery.
Examples of peer support include: peer mentoring or coaching; peer
recovery resource connecting; recovery group facilitation; and
community building.
In Houston, we have peer support programs that exist for both adults
and youth through the Houston Health Department and Houston Recovery
Center.
H.R. 5587 authorizes programs, similar to the ones that are having a
positive impact in Houston, to be established across the country to
serve other communities.
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 5587 to ensure
that we are addressing substance abuse in the United States as
efficiently as possible.
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. 5587, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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