I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 1561
To require research with respect to fentanyl and xylazine test strips, to
authorize the use of grant funds for such test strips, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY25, 2025
Ms. C
ROCKETT(for herself and Mr. GOODEN) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To require research with respect to fentanyl and xylazine
test strips, to authorize the use of grant funds for such
test strips, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advancing Lifesaving 4
Efforts with Rapid Test strips for Communities Act’’ or 5
the ‘‘ALERT Communities Act’’. 6
SEC. 2. FIRST RESPONDER TRAINING. 7
Section 546(c) of the Public Health Service Act (42 8
U.S.C. 290ee–1(c)) is amended— 9
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(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 1
inserting a semicolon; 2
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and 3
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 4
(3) by adding at the end the following: 5
‘‘(5) train and provide resources for first re-6
sponders and members of other relevant community 7
sectors on carrying and facilitating access to 8
fentanyl or xylazine test strips (as defined in section 9
5 of the Advancing Lifesaving Efforts with Rapid 10
Test strips for Communities Act).’’. 11
SEC. 3. RESEARCH AND MARKETING FRAMEWORKS FOR 12
TEST STRIP TECHNOLOGY. 13
The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in con-14
sultation with the Director of the National Institutes of 15
Health, the Director of the Office of National Drug Con-16
trol Policy, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, and the 17
Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, 18
shall develop and make publicly available research and 19
marketing frameworks for developing, improving, and 20
evaluating test strip technology for detecting fentanyl and 21
other dangerous substances. Such frameworks shall— 22
(1) include standards and guidance for manu-23
facturers seeking to develop and test new test strip 24
technology; 25
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(2) emphasize bringing new test strip tech-1
nology intended for testing human specimens in clin-2
ical settings to support on-site clinical decision-mak-3
ing; and 4
(3) include guidance on available authorization 5
pathways for test strips described in paragraphs (1) 6
and (2). 7
SEC. 4. STUDY ON FENTANYL TEST STRIP INTERVENTIONS. 8
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall— 9
(1) conduct a study on the impact of the avail-10
ability, accessibility, and usage of drug checking 11
supplies, including test strips, on frequency of over-12
dose, overdose deaths, and engagement in substance 13
use disorder treatment; and 14
(2) not later than 2 years after the date of en-15
actment of this Act, submit to Congress a report on 16
the study conducted under paragraph (1). 17
SEC. 5. DEFINITION. 18
In this Act, the term ‘‘test strip’’ means a rapid re-19
sponse, single use diagnostic that can be used to detect 20
the adulteration of a drug with, or the presence in a 21
human specimen of, any substance that may lead to in-22
creased morbidity or mortality, such as fentanyl, xylazine, 23
or another synthetic opioid or emerging substance. 24
Æ
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