S.O.S. Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Health.
Stop Overdose Stat Act or the S.O.S. Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) award grants or enter into cooperative agreements to enable eligible entities to reduce deaths occurring from drug overdoses, and (2) give priority to eligible public health agencies or community-based organizations that have expertise in preventing deaths occurring from overdoses in high risk populations.
Conditions receipt of a grant or agreement on an entity agreeing to: (1) use it for purchasing and distributing the drug naloxone, (2) report to the Secretary and the coordinating center (established under this Act) on the results of the activities supported, and (3) make available non-federal contributions of at least 50% of the federal funds provided. Requires a recipient to use such grant or agreement for: (1) educating prescribers and pharmacists about overdose prevention and naloxone prescription; (2) training first responders, other individuals in a position to respond to an overdose, and law enforcement and corrections officials on the effective response to individuals who have overdosed on drugs; (3) implementing and enhancing programs to provide overdose prevention, recognition, treatment, and response; and/or (4) expanding such activities.
Requires the Director to establish and provide for the operation of a coordinating center responsible for: (1) collecting, compiling, disseminating, and evaluating data on such activities; (2) developing best practices for preventing deaths occurring from drug overdoses; and (3) making such best practices specific to the type of community involved.
Requires the Director to award grants or cooperative agreements to improve drug overdose surveillance and reporting capabilities.
Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary to develop and submit to Congress a plan to reduce the number of deaths occurring from overdoses, to include implementation of a campaign to educate prescribers and the public about overdose prevention and naloxone prescription.
Requires the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse to: (1) prioritize and conduct or support research on drug overdose and overdose prevention, and (2) support research on the development of formulations of naloxone and dosage delivery devices specifically intended to be used for the prehospital treatment of unintentional drug overdose.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 6, 2014. 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 March 7, 2014: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- 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 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 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?
Donna Edwards (D-MD) introduced it on March 6, 2014, and 39 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 39 Democrats.
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 March 6, 2014, 4571 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4570 days ago, on March 7, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 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