H.R. 5844

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5844 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5844

To amend the Controlled Substances Act with respect to the registration 
of opioid treatment programs to increase stakeholder input from 
relevant communities and to ensure such programs are treating patients 
in need, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

October 28, 2025

Mr. Espaillat introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
the Judiciary, 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 amend the Controlled Substances Act with respect to the registration 
of opioid treatment programs to increase stakeholder input from 
relevant communities and to ensure such programs are treating patients 
in need, 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 ``Harm Reduction Through Community 
Engagement Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. OPIOID TREATMENT PROGRAM REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.

(a) In General.--Section 303(h) of the Controlled Substances Act 
(21 U.S.C. 823(h)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as 
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively, and moving the 
margins of such subparagraphs (as so redesignated) two ems to 
the right;
(2) by striking ``(h) Practitioners who'' and inserting the 
following:
``(h) Maintenance Treatment or Detoxification Treatment 
Registration Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--Practitioners who'';
(3) in paragraph (1) (as so designated)--
(A) in subparagraph (B) (as so redesignated), by 
striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in subparagraph (C) (as so redesignated), by 
striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; 
and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) if the Secretary determines that--
``(i) the applicant will address community impacts 
in accordance with paragraph (2);
``(ii) the treatment will not be provided within 
one-half mile of a public or private licensed day care 
center, a public or private elementary or secondary 
school, a learning center, a playground, or another 
drug treatment facility or program, including a 
supervised injection facility;
``(iii) the applicant justifies patient need for 
the treatment in the community involved;
``(iv) the applicant will actively promote the use 
of telehealth so as to minimize the need for patients 
to physically appear for treatment;
``(v) the applicant will designate a community 
liaison responsible for developing and maintaining 
cooperative relationships with local elected officials, 
local law enforcement, and local community-based 
organizations including nonprofit organizations that 
provide social services;
``(vi) the applicant will work with a customer 
relationship management system of the local government 
(or establish and operate a customer relationship 
management system if none exists) to track and report 
data on the number of service requests received by such 
system pertaining to drug abuse and treatment in the 
community involved; and
``(vii) the applicant will report to the Secretary 
treatment performance measurement data, including data 
concerning--
``(I) how many patients seek effective 
long-term addiction treatment; and
``(II) the effectiveness of the use of 
telehealth in patient treatment plans, 
including how many patients are using 
telehealth and the outcomes or progress of such 
patients.''.
(b) Community Impact Consideration.--Section 303(h) of the 
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 823(h)), as amended by subsection 
(a), is further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Community Impact Consideration.--For purposes of being 
determined to be qualified under paragraph (1)(A), a practitioner 
seeking to become registered or maintain registration under paragraph 
(1) to dispense narcotic drugs to individuals for maintenance treatment 
or detoxification treatment shall comply with each of the following:
``(A) The practitioner shall--
``(i) conduct outreach to the community involved 
concerning the practitioner's treatment program; and
``(ii) in conducting such outreach, give notice to 
community stakeholders including community boards, 
tenant associations, outpatient treatment centers, 
health care providers, community-based nonprofit 
organizations that provide opioid use and overdose 
prevention and treatment services, and such other 
community stakeholders as may be determined by the 
Secretary.
``(B) The practitioner--
``(i) shall develop and implement a neighborhood 
engagement plan that outlines the practitioner's 
engagement with stakeholders referred to in 
subparagraph (A)(ii) in the geographic location in 
which the opioid treatment program is located; and
``(ii) may include in such plan a description of 
the practitioner's engagement with stakeholders, 
including homeowners associations, school 
administrators, neighboring businesses, community 
organizations, local councils, local emergency medical 
agencies, and law enforcement agencies.
``(C) The practitioner shall--
``(i) establish and maintain a community advisory 
board; and
``(ii) include in the membership of such board 
volunteers from various stakeholder groups who 
represent the positions of the surrounding community.
``(D) The practitioner--
``(i) shall develop and implement a community 
relations plan to measure and minimize the negative 
impacts of the treatment program on the community; and
``(ii) may include in such plan--
``(I) policies and procedures to resolve 
community problems, including loitering and the 
blocking of pedestrian pathways;
``(II) procedures to consider community 
input and impact; and
``(III) a procedure to escalate and solve 
the quality-of-life issues in the surrounding 
blocks such as open air drug trading, uncapped 
needles disposed in public walkways, and open 
drug use.''.
(c) Reporting to Congress.--Section 303(h) of the Controlled 
Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 823(h)), as amended by subsections (a) and 
(b), is further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Reporting to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of the Harm Reduction Through Community Engagement Act of 
2025, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the 
Congress a comprehensive report on community engagement and the 
maintenance of clinics in connection with maintenance treatment or 
detoxification treatment provided pursuant to this subsection, 
including--
``(A) treatment performance measurement data;
``(B) guidance on best practices for sustaining community 
engagement; and
``(C) policy recommendations for sustaining community 
engagement.''.
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