[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 212 (Wednesday, December 8, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S9041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   RURAL OPIOID ABUSE PREVENTION ACT

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of 
S. 2796 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2796) to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide for the eligibility of 
     rural community response pilot programs for funding under the 
     Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Grant Program, and for other 
     purposes.

  There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the 
Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Ossoff 
substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill 
as amended be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion 
to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 4879), in the nature of a substitute, was agreed 
to, as follows:

                 Purpose: In the nature of a substitute

        Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Rural Opioid Abuse 
     Prevention Act''.

     SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF RURAL COMMUNITY RESPONSE PILOT 
                   PROGRAMS FOR FUNDING UNDER THE COMPREHENSIVE 
                   OPIOID ABUSE GRANT PROGRAM.

       Section 3021 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10701) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``and'';
       (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(H) a pilot program for rural areas to implement 
     community response programs that focus on reducing opioid 
     overdose deaths, which may include presenting alternatives to 
     incarceration, as described in subsection (f).''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(f) Rural Pilot Program.--
       ``(1) In general.--The pilot program described under this 
     subsection shall make grants to rural areas to implement 
     community response programs to reduce opioid overdose deaths. 
     Grants issued under this subsection shall be jointly operated 
     by units of local government, in collaboration with public 
     safety and public health agencies or public safety, public 
     health and behavioral health collaborations. A community 
     response program under this subsection shall identify gaps in 
     community prevention, treatment, and recovery services for 
     individuals who encounter the criminal justice system and 
     shall establish treatment protocols to address identified 
     shortcomings. The Attorney General, through the Office of 
     Justice Programs, shall increase the amount provided as a 
     grant under this section for a pilot program by no more than 
     five percent for each of the two years following 
     certification by the Attorney General of the submission of 
     data by the rural area on the prescribing of schedules II, 
     III, and IV controlled substances to a prescription drug 
     monitoring program, or any other centralized database 
     administered by an authorized State agency, which includes 
     tracking the dispensation of such substances, and providing 
     for interoperability and data sharing with each other such 
     program (including an electronic health records system) in 
     each other State, and with any interstate entity that shares 
     information between such programs.
       ``(2) Rules of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
     shall be construed to--
       ``(A) direct or encourage a State to use a specific 
     interstate data sharing program; or
       ``(B) limit or prohibit the discretion of a prescription 
     drug monitoring program for interoperability connections to 
     other programs (including electronic health records systems, 
     hospital systems, pharmacy dispensing systems, or health 
     information exchanges).''.

  The bill (S. 2796), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed as follows:

                                S. 2796

       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 ``Rural Opioid Abuse 
     Prevention Act''.

     SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF RURAL COMMUNITY RESPONSE PILOT 
                   PROGRAMS FOR FUNDING UNDER THE COMPREHENSIVE 
                   OPIOID ABUSE GRANT PROGRAM.

       Section 3021 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10701) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``and'';
       (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(H) a pilot program for rural areas to implement 
     community response programs that focus on reducing opioid 
     overdose deaths, which may include presenting alternatives to 
     incarceration, as described in subsection (f).''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(f) Rural Pilot Program.--
       ``(1) In general.--The pilot program described under this 
     subsection shall make grants to rural areas to implement 
     community response programs to reduce opioid overdose deaths. 
     Grants issued under this subsection shall be jointly operated 
     by units of local government, in collaboration with public 
     safety and public health agencies or public safety, public 
     health and behavioral health collaborations. A community 
     response program under this subsection shall identify gaps in 
     community prevention, treatment, and recovery services for 
     individuals who encounter the criminal justice system and 
     shall establish treatment protocols to address identified 
     shortcomings. The Attorney General, through the Office of 
     Justice Programs, shall increase the amount provided as a 
     grant under this section for a pilot program by no more than 
     five percent for each of the two years following 
     certification by the Attorney General of the submission of 
     data by the rural area on the prescribing of schedules II, 
     III, and IV controlled substances to a prescription drug 
     monitoring program, or any other centralized database 
     administered by an authorized State agency, which includes 
     tracking the dispensation of such substances, and providing 
     for interoperability and data sharing with each other such 
     program (including an electronic health records system) in 
     each other State, and with any interstate entity that shares 
     information between such programs.
       ``(2) Rules of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
     shall be construed to--
       ``(A) direct or encourage a State to use a specific 
     interstate data sharing program; or
       ``(B) limit or prohibit the discretion of a prescription 
     drug monitoring program for interoperability connections to 
     other programs (including electronic health records systems, 
     hospital systems, pharmacy dispensing systems, or health 
     information exchanges).''.

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