On May 9 and May 17, 2018, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce ordered 59 bills to be reported related to the nation’s response to the opioid epidemic. Because of the large number of related bills ordered reported by the Committee, CBO is publishing a single comprehensive document that includes estimates for each piece of legislation.
H.R. 5580, the Surveillance and Testing of Opioids to Prevent Fentanyl Deaths Act of 2018, would establish a grant program for public health laboratories that conduct testing for fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. It also would direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to expand its drug surveillance program, with a particular focus on collecting data on fentanyl. The bill would authorize a total of $30 million per year over the 2018-2022 period for those activities. Based on historical spending patterns for similar activities, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 5580 would cost $113 million over the 2019-2023 period; the remaining amounts would be spent in years after 2023.
