{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hr5046-114/featured_comprehensive-opioid-abuse-reduction-act-of-2016-1462808909.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hr5046-114/featured_large_comprehensive-opioid-abuse-reduction-act-of-2016-1462808909.jpg","shareable":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/hr5046-114.png"},"introduced_on":"2016-04-25","title_override":"Do State and Local Health Programs Need More Funding for Treating Opioid Addiction?","summary_override":"

This bill would create a Dept. of Justice (DOJ) grant program for state and local governments to use to provide services related to opioid abuse. $103 million per year in grants would be used for the purpose of creating a treatment-focused alternative to incarceration and preventing illegal activities that lead to opioid abuse. Opioids are narcotic drugs that may be created using opium from poppy seed or synthetically, which is often the case with many prescription painkillers.

The treatment alternative to incarceration could include the following:

Pre- or post-booking screenings;
Training for criminal justice personnel on the linkage between substance abuse and mental illness;
A mental health court;
A drug court;
A veterans treatment court.

States would be able to use these grants to improve planning and collaboration between state criminal justice agencies and state substance abuse programs with the goal of addressing opioid abuse. It would also provide for purchasing overdose reversal drugs and training first responders to administer the drug. Additional uses could include:

Investigating the unlawful distribution of opioids;
Developing a medication-assisted treatment program;
Creating or expanding a prescription drug monitoring program to track how often the drugs are dispensed at pharmacies; a program to prevent and address opioid use by people under the age of 18; and / or a comprehensive opioid abuse response program.

Applications would be submitted by the state, local, or tribal government’s chief executive officer to the Attorney General’s office. Before rejecting an application, the Attorney General would be required to notify the applicant about any problems with their application. The Attorney General would be required to ensure that the grants are awarded on an equitable basis geographically.

","official_title":"To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General to make grants to assist State and local governments in addressing the national epidemic of opioid abuse, and for other purposes.","short_title":"Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act of 2016","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act of 2016\n\n(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Department of Justice (DOJ) to award grants to state, local, and tribal governments to provide opioid abuse services, including:\n\n enhancing collaboration between criminal justice and substance abuse agencies; developing, implementing, or expanding programs to prevent, treat, or respond to opioid abuse; training first responders to administer opioid overdose reversal drugs; and investigating unlawful opioid distribution activities. (Sec. 3) DOJ's Office of Inspector General must conduct annual audits of selected grant recipients. The bill prohibits grants to nonprofit organizations that hold money in an offshore account to avoid tax liability.\n\n(Sec. 4) The bill also authorizes DOJ to award grants to state, local, and tribal governments to establish or expand programs for veterans, including:\n\n veterans treatment courts; peer-to-peer service...","summarized":true,"cost":415000000,"cost_commentary":"The CBO estimates that implementing this legislation would cost $248 million over the 2017-2021 period and $167 million thereafter.","impact":"State and local health organizations looking to set up an opioid addiction treatment program; and the Dept. of Justice.","argument_for":"State and local health organizations need more federal funding for opioid addiction treatment programs. 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If state and local governments want such programs they can fund it themselves.","bill_type":"hr","published":true,"type":"FederalBill","id":"hr5046-114","bill_id":"hr5046-114","formal_id":"H.R. 5046","chamber":"house","congress":114,"last_action_at":"2016-05-16T00:00:00.000Z","active":true,"enacted":false,"enacted_at":null,"vetoed":false,"last_vote_at":"2016-05-12T20:11:55.000Z","debated_on":"2016-05-09T00:00:00.000Z","congress_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/house-bill/5046","plain_text_url":"https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-114hr5046rh/html/BILLS-114hr5046rh.htm","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/hr5046-114.png","congress_full_text_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/house-bill/5046/text","is_current_congress":false,"last_version_on":"2016-05-06","related_bill_ids":["s524-114","hr5189-114","hres720-114"],"progress":"Passed House","house_passage_result":true,"senate_passage_result":false,"position_count":365,"committees":[{"name":"Committee on the Judiciary","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSJU","subcommittee":false},{"name":"Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSJU08","subcommittee":true},{"name":"Committee on the Judiciary","chamber":"senate","committee_id":"SSJU","subcommittee":false}],"links":{"rollCalls":"/api/roll_calls?bill_id=hr5046-114","details":"/api/bills/hr5046-114/details","sharingMessage":"/api/sharing_messages/hr5046-114","positionsFor":"/api/bills/hr5046-114/positions/for","positionsAgainst":"/api/bills/hr5046-114/positions/against"},"upcoming":false,"cosponsors_count":10,"slug":"hr5046-114-comprehensive-opioid-abuse-reduction-act-of-2016","latest_chamber_votes_id":"hr5046-114","official_url":null,"target_video":true,"following":false,"vote_count":2565,"yea_vote_count":1756,"nay_vote_count":803,"passed_house":true,"passed_senate":false,"vote_id":null,"my_position_id":null,"topic_ids":["crime-and-police"],"issue_ids":["crime-and-police"],"sponsor_id":243}],"votes":[],"issues":[{"id":"crime-and-police","name":"Crime & Police","slug":"crime-and-police","description":"Federal legislation related to the prevention of crimes(from assault to organized crime to juvenile crime), firearms and explosives, correctional facilities and terrorism. 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If more available treatment means addicts will be treated like the patients they are, rather than criminals, then yes. We do not currently have enough treatment centers, or adequate care within then. Not all addicts have the $3k or more that rehabs require.","argument_against":null,"show_argument_for":true,"show_argument_against":false,"upvote_count":1,"upvotes_for_count":1,"upvotes_against_count":null,"has_upvoted":false,"endorsement_count":1,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/positions/f85147f1-3a85-4429-b75e-3efd867d3bbd"},"body":"Definitely. If more available treatment means addicts will be treated like the patients they are, rather than criminals, then yes. We do not currently have enough treatment centers, or adequate care within then. 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Do State and Local Health Programs Need More Funding for Treating Opioid Addiction?