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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5207 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5207
To amend the Public Health Service Act to maintain the Rural
Communities Opioid Response Program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 3, 2026
Mrs. Capito (for herself and Mr. Welch) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to maintain the Rural
Communities Opioid Response Program, and for other purposes.
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 ``RCORP Authorization Act''.
SEC. 2. RURAL COMMUNITIES OPIOID RESPONSE PROGRAM.
Subpart I of part D of title III of the Public Health Service Act
is amended by inserting after section 330A-2 (42 U.S.C. 254c-1b) the
following:
``SEC. 330A-3. RURAL COMMUNITIES OPIOID RESPONSE PROGRAM.
``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary, acting through the
Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (in
this section referred to as the `Administrator'), shall maintain a
program to be known as the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program to
establish and expand prevention, treatment, and recovery services in
rural areas (as defined by the Secretary) for substance use disorders
(including opioid use disorder), related behavioral health conditions,
and other related public health issues.
``(b) Grants and Cooperative Agreements.--
``(1) In general.--In carrying out the program under this
section, the Administrator may award grants or cooperative
agreements to eligible entities.
``(2) Use of funds.--An eligible entity that receives a
grant or cooperative agreement under this section may use funds
received through such grant or cooperative agreement to--
``(A) conduct planning activities to strengthen the
capacity of cross-sector networks and improve
coordination of resources and care involving substance
use disorder;
``(B) identify and implement evidence-based and
sustainable delivery models to provide direct
prevention, treatment, and recovery services;
``(C) respond to new and emerging public health
issues involving substance use disorder;
``(D) provide targeted technical assistance or
evaluation activities with respect to grants or
cooperative agreements awarded under this section; or
``(E) engage in such other activities as the
Secretary may determine appropriate to carry out the
program under this section.
``(3) Prohibited use of funds.--An eligible entity that is
awarded a grant or cooperative agreement under this section may
not use funds provided through such grant or cooperative
agreement for the acquisition or improvement of real property.
``(4) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant or
cooperative agreement under this section, an entity shall be--
``(A) a State;
``(B) an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization (as
such terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act);
``(C) a State office of rural health; or
``(D) any other domestic entity.
``(5) Application.--To seek a grant or cooperative
agreement under this section, an eligible entity shall submit
to the Administrator an application at such time, in such
manner, and containing such information as the Administrator
may require, including a description of how the rural
population in the local community or region to be served will
be involved in the development and ongoing operations of such
activities, as applicable.
``(6) Grant period.--The Administrator may not award a
grant or cooperative agreement under this section for a period
of more than 5 years.
``(7) Funding.--The Administrator may fully fund a grant or
cooperative agreement made under this section at the time of
the award.
``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $165,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2027 through 2031.''.
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