Goodlatte Floor Statement on the "OPEN Act"

Chairman Goodlatte: H.R. 5052, the Opioid Program Evaluation Act, or OPEN Act, is a bill that will require an evaluation of the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Grant Program that will be authorized by H.R. 5046 and other opioid-related grant programs administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. This bipartisan bill sponsored by the gentleman from California, the Majority Leader, and the gentleman from Maryland, the Minority Whip, requires the Attorney General (through an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences) and Secretary of HHS (through an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences or another entity) to:

• identify outcomes that are to be achieved by the activities funded by Congress to address opioid abuse;
• develop the metrics by which each program’s performance will be evaluated;
• complete an interim evaluation assessing the nature and extent of opioid abuse and illegal opioid distribution in the United States; and
• carry out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the programs.

Additionally, to increase transparency and facilitate the evaluation of the performance of the programs, the bill requires grantees to collect and annually report data on the activities conducted pursuant to these programs. Evaluations such as these can be Congress’ best measure of how well a federal program or agency is operating.  At their conclusion, we hope to learn, for example, whether a substantial number of criminal justice agency personnel have received training on substance abuse disorders and co-occurring mental illness and adapted their procedures accordingly. We also hope to learn the extent to which offenders offered a treatment alternative to incarceration have benefitted from a response that integrates substance abuse services into the traditional criminal justice system. I agree with the bill’s sponsors that Congress must demand greater achievement and increased transparency and accountability with respect to our federal grant programs. Therefore, I thank the bill’s sponsors for the contribution this bill makes to the effort to address opioid abuse as well as to our Congressional oversight efforts. I urge support for this important bill.