Today, Congressman Addison McDowell introduced the Clarity for Opioid-Use Reduction and Expenditures (CURE) Act. This legislation aims to enhance accountability and transparency in federal opioid response programs.
According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), subrecipients of federal opioid grants under programs like the State Opioid Response (SOR) and Tribal Opioid Response (TOR) are not required to report their spending of taxpayer dollars. This lack of oversight has left a gap in understanding how funds intended to combat fentanyl and opioid abuse are utilized.
“The lack of oversight on who receives taxpayer dollars, and how they’re used to respond to the opioid crisis, opens the door to waste, fraud, and abuse,” said Congressman McDowell. “Through the CURE Act, we’ll make sure these funds are actually reaching those on the front lines of the fentanyl and opioid epidemics, helping those they’re intended to.”
The CURE Act proposes several measures:
– Amending the 21st Century Cures Act to require grant subrecipients to report.
– Directing HHS to establish a standardized reporting system for opioid use disorder grant data.
– Requiring states to report details on fund allocation, recipients, and individuals served.
– Mandating regular reports to Congress for improved program oversight.
The CURE Act aims to strengthen federal efforts against the opioid epidemic by addressing waste, fraud, and abuse. By closing loopholes in grant tracking, it seeks to ensure resources support treatment, prevention, and recovery in affected communities.
