II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2796 

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 

provide for the eligibility of rural community response pilot programs 

for funding under the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Grant Program, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 22 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 21), 2021 

Mr. OSSOFF (for himself and Mr. GRASSLEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 

Act of 1968 to provide for the eligibility of rural community response pilot programs for funding under the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Grant 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 ‘‘Rural Opioid Abuse 

5 Prevention Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF RURAL COMMUNITY RESPONSE 

2 PILOT PROGRAMS FOR FUNDING UNDER THE 

3 COMPREHENSIVE OPIOID ABUSE GRANT PRO4 GRAM. 

5 Section 3021 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 

6 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10701) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

10 ‘‘and’’; 

11 (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking the 

12 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(H) a pilot program for rural areas to im15 plement community response programs that 

16 focus on presenting alternatives to incarceration 

17 and reducing opioid overdose deaths, as de18 scribed in subsection (f).’’; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(f) RURAL PILOT PROGRAM.—The pilot program 

21 described under this subsection shall make grants to rural 

22 areas to implement community response programs to re23 duce opioid overdose deaths. Grants issued under this sub24 section shall be jointly operated by units of local govern25 ment, in collaboration with public safety and public health 

26 agencies or public safety, public health and behavioral 


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1 health collaborations. A community response program 

2 under this subsection shall identify gaps in community 

3 prevention, treatment, and recovery services for individ4 uals who encounter the criminal justice system and shall 

5 establish treatment protocols to address identified short6 comings. The Attorney General, through the Office of Jus7 tice Programs, shall increase the amount provided as a 

8 grant under this section for a pilot program by no more 

9 than five percent for each of the two years following cer10 tification by the Attorney General of the submission of 

11 data by the rural area on the prescribing of schedules II, 

12 III, and IV controlled substances to a prescription drug 

13 monitoring program, or any other centralized database ad14 ministered by an authorized State agency, which includes 

15 tracking the dispensation of such substances, and pro16 viding for interoperability and data sharing with each 

17 other such program (including an electronic health records 

18 system) in each other State, and with any interstate entity 

19 that shares information between such programs.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. PROVISION REGARDING CERTAIN FUNDING LEVEL 

21 FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES. 

22 Section 3024 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 

23 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10704) is amend24 ed— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (2)(C) by striking the period 

4 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(3) provides that not less than 10 percent of 

7 grants issued pursuant to this part shall be awarded 

8 to rural areas.’’. 

9 SEC. 4. DEFINITION. 

10 Section 3025 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 

11 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10705) is amend12 ed by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(9) The term ‘rural area’ has the meaning 

14 given such term in section 343(a)(13)(A) of the 

15 Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

16 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A)).’’. 

Æ 


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