Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000
Latest action. Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 740.
Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to waive the requirement that practitioners who dispense narcotic drugs to individuals for maintenance or detoxification treatment annually obtain a separate registration for that purpose, and that the Attorney General register an applicant to dispense narcotic drugs to individuals for such treatment, in the case of the dispensing by a practitioner of narcotic drugs in schedule III, IV, or V or combinations of such drugs (schedule III-V drugs) if the practitioner and the drugs meet specified conditions. Limits the total number of patients of either a sole practitioner or of a group to 30 patients at any one time. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to set different numerical ceilings according to the number of practitioners in the group practice. Requires that: (1) the practitioner, before dispensing schedule III-V drugs to patients for maintenance or detoxification treatment, submit to the Secretary a notification of intent to begin dispensing such drugs for that purpose, including certifications that the practitioner is a "qualifying physician" (defined to mean a physician who is licensed under State law and meets specified training and experience requirements), and has the capacity to refer the patients for appropriate counseling and other appropriate ancillary; and (2) the schedule III-V drugs have been approved for use in maintenance or detoxification treatment and have not been the subject of an "adverse determination" (i.e., requires additional standards regarding the qualifications of practitioners to provide such treatment, or requires standards regarding the quantities of the drugs that may be provided for unsupervised use). Sets forth specified procedural requirements to make the waiver effective. Directs the Attorney General, upon receiving a notification under this Act, to assign the practitioner involved an identification number for inclusion with the registration issued for the practitioner. Requires that the identification number be appropriate to preserve the confidentiality of patients for whom the practitioner has dispensed narcotic drugs under the waiver. Directs: (1) the Secretary, within 45 days after receiving a notification, to make a determination of whether the practitioner involved meets all waiver requirements; and (2) the Attorney General, if the Secretary fails to make such determination by the end of such period, to assign the physician an identification number. Requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (consulted parties), to issue regulations or practice guidelines to address: (1) approval of additional credentialing bodies and their responsibilities; and (2) additional exemptions. Specifies that nothing in such regulations or guidelines may authorize any Federal official or employee to exercise supervision or control over the practice of medicine or the manner in which medical services are provided. Directs the Secretary: (1) to issue a treatment improvement protocol containing best practice guidelines for the treatment and maintenance of opiate-dependent patients; and (2) to develop the protocol in consultation with the consulted parties and other substance abuse disorder professionals, with the protocol guided by science. Prohibits a State, for three years, from precluding a practitioner from dispensing or prescribing drugs in schedule III-V to patients for maintenance of detoxification treatment unless the State enacts a law prohibiting a practitioner from dispensing such drugs. Authorizes the Secretary and the Attorney General, for three years, to make determinations regarding whether: (1) treatments provided under such waivers have been effective forms of maintenance and detoxification treatment in clinical settings; (2) such waivers have significantly increased the availability of such treatment; and (3) such waivers have adverse public health consequences. Authorizes the Secretary or the Attorney General, after consulting each other, to terminate the waiver mechanism after announcing their decision in the Federal Register. Authorizes appropriations to assist the Secretary with the additional duties established for the Secretary pursuant to this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on July 19, 2000. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 27, 2000: Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 740.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 106th Congress (1999-00), 580 of the 9,158 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 6.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
THOMAS BLILEY (R-VA) introduced it on July 29, 1999, and 10 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 3 Democrats, 7 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 29, 1999, 9905 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 9541 days ago, on July 27, 2000.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 106th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2001 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers