[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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