I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9842 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to maintain the Rural Communities 

Opioid Response Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 

Mrs. MILLER of West Virginia (for herself, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Ms. SEWELL, and Ms. KUSTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to maintain the 

Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘RCORP Authorization 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. RURAL COMMUNITIES OPIOID RESPONSE PRO2 GRAM. 

3 The Public Health Service Act is amended by insert4 ing after section 330A–2 (42 U.S.C. 254c–1b) the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 330A–3. RURAL COMMUNITIES OPIOID RESPONSE 

7 PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

9 through the Administrator of the Health Resources and 

10 Services Administration (in this section referred to as the 

11 ‘Administrator’), shall maintain a program to be known 

12 as the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program to 

13 establish and expand prevention, treatment, and recovery 

14 services in rural areas (as defined by the Secretary) for 

15 substance use disorders (including opioid use disorder), re16 lated behavioral health conditions, and other related public 

17 health issues. 

18 ‘‘(b) GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pro20 gram under this section, the Administrator may 

21 award grants or cooperative agreements to eligible 

22 entities. 

23 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that 

24 receives a grant or cooperative agreement under this 

25 section may use funds received through such grant 

26 or cooperative agreement to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) conduct planning activities to 

2 strengthen the capacity of cross-sector networks 

3 and improve coordination of resources and care 

4 involving substance use disorder; 

5 ‘‘(B) identify and implement evidence6 based and sustainable delivery models to pro7 vide direct prevention, treatment, and recovery 

8 services; 

9 ‘‘(C) respond to new and emerging public 

10 health issues involving substance use disorder; 

11 ‘‘(D) provide targeted technical assistance 

12 or evaluation activities with respect to grants or 

13 cooperative agreements awarded under this sec14 tion; or 

15 ‘‘(E) engage in such other activities as the 

16 Secretary may determine appropriate to carry 

17 out the program under this section. 

18 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITED USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible 

19 entity that is awarded a grant or cooperative agree20 ment under this section may not use funds provided 

21 through such grant or cooperative agreement for the 

22 acquisition or improvement of real property. 

23 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

24 grant or cooperative agreement under this section, 

25 an entity shall be— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a State; 

2 ‘‘(B) an Indian Tribe or Tribal organiza3 tion (as such terms are defined in section 4 of 

4 the Indian Self-Determination and Education 

5 Assistance Act); 

6 ‘‘(C) a State office of rural health; or 

7 ‘‘(D) any other domestic entity. 

8 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION.—To seek a grant or cooper9 ative agreement under this section, an eligible entity 

10 shall submit to the Administrator an application at 

11 such time, in such manner, and containing such in12 formation as the Administrator may require, includ13 ing a description of how the rural population in the 

14 local community or region to be served will be in15 volved in the development and ongoing operations of 

16 such activities, as applicable. 

17 ‘‘(6) GRANT PERIOD.—The Administrator may 

18 not award a grant or cooperative agreement under 

19 this section for a period of more than 5 years. 

20 ‘‘(7) FUNDING.—The Administrator may fully 

21 fund a grant or cooperative agreement made under 

22 this section at the time of the award. 

23 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 


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1 $165,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 

2 2028.’’. 

Æ 


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