I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4733 

To establish and fund an Opioids and STOP Pain Initiative to expand, 

intensify, and coordinate fundamental, translational, and clinical research 

of the National Institutes of Health with respect to opioid abuse, the 

understanding of pain, and the discovery and development of safer and 

more effective treatments and preventive interventions for pain. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 21, 2017 

Mr. WELCH (for himself and Mr. MCKINLEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 

addition to the Committees on the Budget, and Ways and Means, for a 

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish and fund an Opioids and STOP Pain Initiative 

to expand, intensify, and coordinate fundamental, 

translational, and clinical research of the National Institutes of Health with respect to opioid abuse, the understanding of pain, and the discovery and development 

of safer and more effective treatments and preventive 

interventions for pain. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Opioids and STOP 

3 Pain Initiative Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 

5 There is established an Opioids and STOP Pain Ini6 tiative, to be administered by the Director of the National 

7 Institutes of Health, in coordination with other agencies, 

8 as appropriate, which shall include efforts to support re9 search on the following: 

10 (1) Section 108 of the Comprehensive Addiction 

11 and Recovery Act of 2016 (42 U.S.C. 284q–1), 

12 known as the STOP Pain Act, which directs the Na13 tional Institutes of Health to intensify and coordi14 nate fundamental, translational, and clinical re15 search with respect to— 

16 (A) the understanding of pain; 

17 (B) the discovery and development of 

18 therapies for chronic pain; and 

19 (C) the development of alternatives to 

20 opioids for effective pain treatments. 

21 (2) Developing improved options and evidence 

22 for medication-assisted treatment. 

23 (3) Developing improved options and evidence 

24 for opioid overdose reversal treatments. 

25 (4) The Federal Pain Research Strategy, in26 cluding research that focuses on— 


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1 (A) novel drugs, non-addictive, and non2 pharmacological treatments for pain; 

3 (B) screening tools and outcome measure 

4 for assessments across the continuum of pain; 

5 (C) national registries, datasets, and re6 search networks; 

7 (D) effective models of care delivery for 

8 pain management; and 

9 (E) precision medicine methodology to pre10 vent and treat pain. 

11 (5) The components of the Department of 

12 Health and Human Services five-point strategy to 

13 address the opioid crisis that states: ‘‘Providing sup14 port for cutting edge research on pain and addic15 tion’’. 

16 (6) The pain therapy screening program estab17 lished under section 4. 

18 (7) Other elements that the Secretary of Health 

19 and Human Services may designate, in consultation 

20 with the Director of the National Institutes of 

21 Health. 

22 SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR THE OPIOIDS AND STOP PAIN INITIA23 TIVE. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro25 priated, and there is appropriated, $5,000,000,000, to be 


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1 used during the 5-fiscal-year period beginning in the fiscal 

2 year in which such funds are appropriated, to the National 

3 Institutes of Health Innovation Account to be used to ad4 minister the Opioids and STOP Pain Initiative established 

5 under section 2. 

6 (b) EMERGENCY SPENDING.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts appropriated under 

8 subsection (a) are designated as an emergency re9 quirement pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory 

10 Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)). 

11 (2) DESIGNATION IN THE SENATE.—In the 

12 Senate, amounts appropriated under subsection (a) 

13 are designated as an emergency requirement pursu14 ant to section 403(a) of S. Con. Res. 13 (111th 

15 Congress), the concurrent resolution on the budget 

16 for fiscal year 2010. 

17 SEC. 4. PAIN THERAPY SCREENING PROGRAM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

19 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec20 retary’’) shall carry out through the National Institutes 

21 of Health a program to be known as the ‘‘Pain Therapy 

22 Screening Program’’ that focuses on the development of 

23 pain therapeutics. 

24 (b) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall award grants 

25 under the program under subsection (a) to eligible public 


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1 and private nonprofit entities to support the development 

2 of new pre-clinical models for pain disorders, and the ap3 plication of these models in drug, device, or other therapy 

4 screening. 

5 (c) MODEL.—The program under this section shall 

6 be modeled after the Epilepsy Therapy Screening Program 

7 carried out by the National Institute of Neurological Dis8 orders and Stroke. 

9 (d) FEES.—The Secretary of Health and Human 

10 Services may assess reasonable fees on private pharma11 ceutical or medical device industry entities that utilize the 

12 program under this section to screen proprietary molec13 ular compounds and devices. Such fees shall be paid to 

14 the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and 

15 transferred to the NIH Innovation Account to be used for 

16 the Opioids and STOP Pain Initiative established under 

17 section 2. 

18 (e) FUNDING.—The Director of the National Insti19 tutes of Health shall determine the amount, and allocate, 

20 funds from the amount appropriated under section 3, to 

21 carry out this section. 

22 SEC. 5. FUNDING PROVISIONS. 

23 (a) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts appro24 priated in this Act (including the amendments made by 

25 this Act) shall be used to supplement, not supplant, curVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:29 Dec 23, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4733.IH H4733

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1 rent funding for pain and opioid research at the National 

2 Institutes of Health. 

3 (b) ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS.—Notwithstanding 

4 section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Secretary 

5 of Health and Human Services may accept donations (in6 cluding from the pharmaceutical and medical device indus7 tries) to be used to assist in carrying out programs and 

8 activities under this Act (and the amendments made by 

9 this Act). Such donations shall be paid to the Foundation 

10 for the National Institutes of Health and transferred to 

11 the NIH Innovation Account to be used for the Opioids 

12 and STOP Pain Initiative established under section 2. 

13 (c) INCLUSION OF CONTRIBUTION AMOUNTS IN

14 BASIC RESEARCH FOR PURPOSES OF RESEARCH CRED15 IT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (6) of section 

17 41(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following new 

19 subparagraph: 

20 ‘‘(E) OPIOIDS AND STOP PAIN INITIA21 TIVE.—The National Institutes of Health, if the 

22 payment is made in support of the Opioids and 

23 STOP Pain Initiative, as established by the 

24 Opioids and STOP Pain Initiative Act.’’. 


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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

2 by this subsection shall apply to taxable years begin3 ning after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY. 

5 Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, the 

6 Director of the National Institutes of Health may use 

7 funds available under section 3 to enter into transactions 

8 (other than contracts, cooperative agreements, or grants) 

9 to carry out research identified pursuant to the Opioids 

10 and STOP Pain Initiative established under section 2. 

11 SEC. 7. REPORTS. 

12 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than October 1 of 

13 each of fiscal years 2019 through 2026, the Director of 

14 the National Institutes of Health shall submit to the Com15 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the 

16 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Com17 mittee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on 

18 Appropriations of the House of Representatives, a report 

19 that includes— 

20 (1) the amount obligated or expended in the fis21 cal year prior to the fiscal year in which the report 

22 is being submitted for each program or activity de23 scribed in this Act (or an amendment made by this 

24 Act); 


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1 (2) a description of all such programs or activi2 ties carried out using funds provided under this Act 

3 (or amendments); and 

4 (3) a description of how such programs or ac5 tivities are advancing public health, including the 

6 impact on treating pain and addressing opioid mis7 use in the United States. 

8 (b) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—At the request of the 

9 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions or 

10 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, or the 

11 Committee on Energy and Commerce or the Committee 

12 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, the 

13 Director of the National Institutes of Health shall provide 

14 to the relevant committee an update in the form of testi15 mony and additional reports concerning the allocation of 

16 funding under this Act (or the amendments made by this 

17 Act) or the description of the programs and activities car18 ried out with such funding. 

Æ 


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