Legislative Activity

Opioid Bills Slated for House Floor Consideration

This week, the House of Representatives will consider 11 bills focused on combatting the opioid crisis. The legislation being considered will act as House companion legislation to S. 524, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), which passed the Senate in March.

The bills being considered include: H.R. 4843, the Infant Plan of Safe Care Improvement Act, which requires certain monitoring and oversight of neonatal abstinence syndrome, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and withdrawal symptoms; H.R. 4978, the Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act, which requires the Comptroller General of the United States to issue a report on neonatal abstinence syndrome; H.R. 3680, the Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdoses Act of 2015, which provides for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a grant program for co-prescribing opioid overdose reversal drugs; H.R. 3691, the Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015, which reauthorizes residential treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women and establishes a pilot program to provide grants to state substance abuse agencies to promote innovative service delivery models for women; H.R. 4969, the John Thomas Decker Act, which provides for informational materials to educate and prevent addiction in teenagers and adolescents who are injured playing youth sports and subsequently prescribed an opioid; H.R. 4599, the Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016, which permits certain partial fillings of prescriptions; H.R. 4976, the Opioid Review Modernization Act, which requires the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to seek recommendations from an advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration before approval of certain new drugs that are opioids without abuse-deterrent properties; H.R. 4982, Examining Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Act of 2016, which directs the Comptroller General to evaluate and report on inpatient and outpatient treatment capacity, availability, and needs; H.R. 4981, the Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Expansion and Modernization Act, which reforms access to opioid use disorder treatment;  H.R. 4641, To  provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force on best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication; and H.R. 5046, the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act of 2016, which authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to assist State and local government in addressing the national epidemic of opioid abuse.

This Week’s Hearings:

• Tuesday, May 10: The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) will hold a hearing titled “Understanding Dyslexia: The Intersection of Scientific Research and Education.”
• Tuesday, May 10: The Senate Committee on Finance will hold a hearing titled “Can Evidence Based Practices Improve Outcomes for Vulnerable Individuals?”
• Tuesday, May 10: The House Committee on Rules will hold a meeting on H.R. 4641, To provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication and for other purposes, and H.R. 5046, the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act of 2016.
• Wednesday, May 11: The House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing titled “Health Care Solutions: Increasing Patient Choice and Plan Innovation.”
• Wednesday, May 11: The House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing titled “Implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).”
• Wednesday, May 11: The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will hold a hearing on S. 2417, To amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to allow the Indian Health Service to cover the cost of copayment of an Indian or Alaska Native veteran receiving medical care or services from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes, and S. 2842, A bill to amend and reform the Johnson-O’Malley Act to award contracts to certain tribal organizations, Indian corporations, school districts, States, and consortia of tribal organizations, and for other purposes.
• Wednesday, May 11: The Senate Committee on Finance will hold a hearing on the nominations of Charles Blahous III and Robert Reischauer to be members of the Board of Trustees of Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, the Board of Trustees of the Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund, and the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and Federal Disability Insurance Fund.
• Thursday, May 12: The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs will hold a hearing titled “Combating the Crisis: Evaluating Efforts to Prevent Veteran Suicide.”
• Friday, May 13: The House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing titled “Concussions in Youth Sports: Evaluating Prevention and Research.”