Title: Excellence in Recovery Housing Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Excellence in Recovery Housing Act
This bill directs the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to promote the availability of high-quality recovery housing for individuals with substance use disorders, including by developing standards and best practices for recovery housing and awarding grants to states, tribes, territories, and localities.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8868 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8868

   To amend title V of the Public Health Service Act to provide for 
    increased oversight of recovery housing, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 3, 2020

 Mr. Trone (for himself, Ms. Judy Chu of California, and Mr. Levin of 
 California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title V of the Public Health Service Act to provide for 
    increased oversight of recovery housing, 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 ``Excellence in Recovery Housing 
Act''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFYING THE ROLE OF SAMHSA IN PROMOTING THE AVAILABILITY OF 
              HIGH-QUALITY RECOVERY HOUSING.

    Section 501(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (24)(E), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (25), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(26) collaborate with national accrediting entities and 
        reputable providers and analysts of recovery housing services 
        and all relevant Federal agencies, including the Centers for 
        Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Health Resources and Services 
        Administration, other offices and agencies within the 
        Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of National 
        Drug Control Policy, the Department of Justice, the Department 
        of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of 
        Agriculture, to promote the availability of high-quality 
        recovery housing for individuals with a substance use 
        disorder.''.

SEC. 3. DEVELOPING GUIDELINES FOR STATES TO PROMOTE THE AVAILABILITY OF 
              HIGH-QUALITY RECOVERY HOUSING.

    (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance 
Use, shall develop, and publish on the internet website of the 
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, consensus-
based guidelines and nationally recognized standards for States to 
promote the availability of high-quality recovery housing for 
individuals with a substance use disorder. Such guidelines shall--
            (1) be developed in consultation with national accrediting 
        entities and reputable providers and analysts of recovery 
        housing services and be consistent with the best practices 
        developed under section 550 of the Public Health Service Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 290aa); and
            (2) to the extent practicable, build on existing best 
        practices and suggested guidelines developed previously by the 
        Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
    (b) Public Comment Period.--Before finalizing guidelines under 
subsection (a), the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
provide for a public comment period.
    (c) Exclusion of Guideline on Treatment Services.--In developing 
the guidelines under subsection (a), the Secretary may not include any 
guideline or standard with respect to substance use disorder treatment 
services.
    (d) Substance Use Disorder Treatment Services.--In this section, 
the term ``substance use disorder treatment services'' means items or 
services furnished for the treatment of a substance use disorder, 
including--
            (1) medications approved by the Food and Drug 
        Administration for use in such treatment, excluding each such 
        medication used to prevent or treat a drug overdose;
            (2) the administering of such medications;
            (3) recommendations for such treatment;
            (4) clinical assessments and referrals;
            (5) counseling with a physician, psychologist, or mental 
        health professional (including individual and group therapy); 
        and
            (6) toxicology testing.

SEC. 4. COORDINATION OF FEDERAL ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE THE AVAILABILITY 
              OF HIGH-QUALITY RECOVERY HOUSING.

    Section 550 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290ee-5) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), and (g) as 
        subsections (h), (i), and (j), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
    ``(e) Coordination of Federal Activities To Promote the 
Availability of High-Quality Recovery Housing for Individuals With a 
Substance Use Disorder.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Assistant Secretary, and the Secretary of the Department of 
        Housing and Urban Development, shall convene and serve as the 
        co-chairs of an interagency working group composed of 
        representatives of each of the Federal agencies described in 
        paragraph (2) (referred to in this section as the `working 
        group') for the following purposes:
                    ``(A) To increase collaboration, cooperation, and 
                consultation among such Federal agencies, with respect 
                to promoting the availability of high-quality recovery 
                housing.
                    ``(B) To align the efforts of such agencies and 
                avoid duplication of such efforts by such agencies.
                    ``(C) To develop objectives, priorities, and a 
                long-term plan for supporting State, Tribal, and local 
                efforts with respect to the operation of high-quality 
                recovery housing that is consistent with the best 
                practices developed under this section.
                    ``(D) To coordinate inspection and enforcement 
                among Federal and State agencies.
                    ``(E) To coordinate data collection on the quality 
                of recovery housing.
            ``(2) Federal agencies described.--The Federal agencies 
        described in this paragraph are the following:
                    ``(A) The Department of Health and Human Services.
                    ``(B) The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
                    ``(C) The Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
                Services Administration.
                    ``(D) The Health Resources Services Administration.
                    ``(E) The Indian Health Service.
                    ``(F) The Department of Housing and Urban 
                Development.
                    ``(G) The Department of Agriculture.
                    ``(H) The Department of Justice.
                    ``(I) The Office of National Drug Control Policy.
                    ``(J) The Bureau of Indian Affairs.
                    ``(K) Any other such agency or subagency as the 
                chair determines necessary and appropriate.
            ``(3) Meetings.--The working group shall meet on a 
        quarterly basis.
            ``(4) Reports to congress.--Beginning not later than one 
        year after the date of the enactment of this section and 
        annually thereafter, the working group shall submit to the 
        Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on Ways and 
        Means, the Committee on Agriculture, and the Committee on 
        Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, the 
        Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and the 
        Committee on Finance of the Senate a report describing the work 
        of the working group and any recommendations of the working 
        group to improve Federal, State, and local policy with respect 
        to recovery housing operations.''.

SEC. 5. NAS STUDY.

    Section 550 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290ee-5), 
as amended by section 4, is further amended by inserting after 
subsection (e) (as inserted by such section 4) the following:
    ``(f) NAS Study and Report.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Assistant Secretary, shall enter into an arrangement with the 
        National Academy of Sciences under which the National Academy 
        agrees to conduct a study on--
                    ``(A) the availability in the United States of 
                high-quality recovery housing and whether that 
                availability meets the demand for such housing in the 
                United States; and
                    ``(B) State, Tribal, and local regulation and 
                oversight of recovery housing.
            ``(2) Report.--The arrangement under paragraph (1) shall 
        provide for the National Academy of Sciences to submit, not 
        later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 
        subsection, a report that contains--
                    ``(A) the results of the study under such 
                paragraph;
                    ``(B) the National Academy's recommendations for 
                Federal, State, and local policies to promote the 
                availability of high-quality recovery housing in the 
                United States;
                    ``(C) recommendations for Federal, State, and local 
                policies to improve data collection on the quality of 
                recovery housing;
                    ``(D) recommendations for recovery housing quality 
                metrics;
                    ``(E) recommendations to eliminate restrictions by 
                recovery residences that exclude individuals who take 
                prescribed medications for opioid use disorder; and
                    ``(F) a summary of allegations, assertions, or 
                formal legal actions on the State and local levels by 
                governments and non-governmental organizations with 
                respect to the opening and operation of recovery 
                residences.
            ``(3) Consultation.--In conducting the study under this 
        subsection, the National Academy of Sciences shall consult with 
        national accrediting entities and reputable providers and 
        analysts of recovery housing services.''.

SEC. 6. GRANTS FOR STATES TO PROMOTE THE AVAILABILITY OF HIGH QUALITY 
              RECOVERY HOUSING.

    Section 550 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290ee-5), 
as amended by sections 4 and 5, is further amended by inserting after 
subsection (f) (as inserted by such section 5) the following:
    ``(g) Grants for Implementing National Recovery Housing Best 
Practices.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants to 
        States (and political subdivisions thereof), Tribes, and 
        territories--
                    ``(A) for the provision of technical assistance by 
                national accrediting entities and reputable providers 
                and analysts of recovery housing services to implement 
                the guidelines, nationally recognized standards, and 
                recommendations developed under section 3 of the 
                Excellence in Recovery Housing Act and this section; 
                and
                    ``(B) to promote the availability of high-quality 
                recovery housing for individuals with a substance use 
                disorder and practices to maintain housing quality long 
                term.
            ``(2) State enforcement plans.--Beginning not later than 90 
        days after the date of the enactment of this paragraph and 
        every 2 years thereafter, as a condition on the receipt of a 
        grant under paragraph (1), each State (or political 
        subdivisions thereof), Tribe, or territory receiving such a 
        grant shall submit to the Secretary, and make publicly 
        available on a publicly accessible Internet website of the 
        State (or political subdivisions thereof), Tribe, or territory, 
        the plan of the State (or political subdivisions thereof), 
        Tribe, or territory, with respect to the promotion of high-
        quality recovery housing for individuals with a substance use 
        disorder located within the jurisdiction of such State (or 
        political subdivisions thereof), Tribe, or territory, and how 
        such plan is consistent with the best practices developed under 
        this section and guidelines developed under section 3 of the 
        Excellence in Recovery Housing Act.
            ``(3) Review of accrediting entities.--The Secretary shall 
        periodically review the accrediting entities providing 
        technical assistance pursuant to paragraph (1)(A).''.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 550 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290ee-5), 
as amended by sections 4, 5, and 6 is further amended by amending 
subsection (j) (as redesignated by such section 4) to read as follows:
    ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--To carry out this section, there is 
        authorized to be appropriated--
                    ``(A) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; and
                    ``(B) $11,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 
                through 2026.
            ``(2) Reservations of funds.--The Secretary shall reserve--
                    ``(A) not less than $1,000,000 to carry out 
                subsection (e) for each of fiscal years 2021 through 
                2026;
                    ``(B) not less than $1,000,000 to carry out 
                subsection (f) for fiscal year 2021; and
                    ``(C) not less than $10,000,000 to carry out 
                subsection (g) for each of fiscal years 2022 through 
                2026.''.

SEC. 8. REPUTABLE PROVIDERS AND ANALYSTS OF RECOVERY HOUSING SERVICES 
              DEFINITION.

    Section 550(i) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290ee-
5(i)), as redesignated by section 4, is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
            ``(4) The term `reputable providers and analysts of 
        recovery housing services' means recovery housing service 
        providers and analysts that--
                    ``(A) use evidence-based approaches;
                    ``(B) act in accordance with guidelines issued by 
                the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance 
                Use;
                    ``(C) have not been found guilty of health care 
                fraud by the Department of Justice; and
                    ``(D) have not been found to have violated Federal, 
                State, or local codes of conduct with respect to 
                recovery housing for individuals with a substance use 
                disorder.''.

SEC. 9. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.

    Title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa et seq.) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 550 (relating to Sobriety 
        Treatment and Recovery Teams) (42 U.S.C. 290ee-10), as added by 
        section 8214 of Public Law 115-271, as section 550A; and
            (2) moving such section so it appears after section 550 
        (relating to National Recovery Housing Best Practices).
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