Strengthening Communities of Recovery Act
The Strengthening Communities of Recovery Act would reauthorize the federal program known as Strengthening Communities of Recovery, which supports efforts to help people with substance use disorders achieve and maintain recovery. The bill makes two main changes: (1) it broadens the program’s title and scope from “building” to also include “strengthening” recovery communities, and (2) it increases the authorized funding and sets new funding levels for the future. Specifically, the heading would be changed to reflect a broader goal, the statute would allow funding to be used not only to build new recovery-related infrastructure but also to strengthen existing recovery supports, and the annual funding authorization would jump from $5 million (historic authorization for 2019-2023) to $16 million per year for fiscal years 2025 through 2029. The bill was introduced in the Senate and referred to the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
Key Points
- 1The bill creates a broader mandate by changing the program’s focus from “building” to “strengthening” communities of recovery, signaling support for both creating and improving recovery infrastructure and supports.
- 2It adds language allowing funding to be used to “build or strengthen” recovery communities, expanding permissible activities beyond solely constructing new programs or facilities.
- 3The authorized funding level is increased to $16,000,000 per fiscal year for 2025 through 2029, up from $5,000,000 per year for 2019–2023.
- 4The changes are made to Section 547 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290ee-2), ensuring the program remains a federal program under federal health law.
- 5The bill was introduced in the Senate by Mr. Luján (with Mr. Cornyn) and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for consideration.