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Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 25, 2025
Advancing Lifesaving Efforts with Rapid Test strips for Communities Act or the ALERT Communities Act
This bill establishes programs and requirements to advance the development and usage of test strips that detect the presence of certain hazardous drugs (e.g., fentanyl, xylazine).
Currently, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides grants to government entities to train and provide authorized equipment to first responders and other relevant personnel for emergency treatment of opioid overdoses. The bill expands these grants to include rapid response test strips for detecting the presence of fentanyl, xylazine, and other synthetic opioids or emerging substances in people or within other drugs.
Additionally, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to publish guidance and standards for test strip manufacturers to support the development, evaluation, and authorization of test strips.
Also, HHS must conduct a study and report to Congress on how the availability and usage of test strips and similar equipment impacts the frequency of overdoses and participation in substance use disorder treatment.
People & committees
Rep. Crockett, Jasmine [D-TX-30] · D–TX
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 48 - 0.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 1, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-25 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This proposal would add training and resources for first responders and other community sectors on carrying and helping people access fentanyl or xylazine test strips. It would require federal guidance for developing and evaluating test strips, with an emphasis on clinical testing. It would also require a study of how access to and use of drug-checking supplies affect overdoses, deaths, and participation in substance use disorder treatment.
train and provide resources for first responders and members of other relevant community sectors on carrying and facilitating access to fentanyl or xylazine test strips
shall develop and make publicly available research and marketing frameworks for developing, improving, and evaluating test strip technology for detecting fentanyl and other dangerous substances.
emphasize bringing new test strip technology intended for testing human specimens in clinical settings to support on-site clinical decision-making
conduct a study on the impact of the availability, accessibility, and usage of drug checking supplies, including test strips, on frequency of overdose, overdose deaths, and engagement in substance use disorder treatment
Section 1 would name the bill the Advancing Lifesaving Efforts with Rapid Test strips for Communities Act, or the ALERT Communities Act.
This Act may be cited as the Advancing Lifesaving Efforts with Rapid Test strips for Communities Act or the ALERT Communities Act.
Section 2 would add a provision to section 546(c) of the Public Health Service Act for training and resources on carrying and facilitating access to fentanyl or xylazine test strips. It covers first responders and members of other relevant community sectors. The existing statutory language governing this addition is not reproduced.
Section 546(c) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290ee–1(c)) is amended—
by adding at the end the following: (5) train and provide resources for first responders and members of other relevant community sectors on carrying and facilitating access to fentanyl or xylazine test strips (as defined in section 5 of the Advancing Lifesaving Efforts with Rapid Test strips for Communities Act).
Section 3 would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and publish frameworks for researching and bringing to market test-strip technology that detects fentanyl and other dangerous substances. The Secretary would consult the heads of the National Institutes of Health, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Food and Drug Administration, and Drug Enforcement Administration.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Director of the National Institutes of Health, the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, and the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, shall develop and make publicly available research and marketing frameworks for developing, improving, and evaluating test strip technology for detecting fentanyl and other dangerous substances.
The frameworks would have to include standards and guidance for manufacturers developing and testing new technology, emphasize testing human samples in clinical settings to help clinicians make decisions on site, and explain available routes for obtaining authorization for these test strips.
Such frameworks shall— (1) include standards and guidance for manufacturers seeking to develop and test new test strip technology; (2) emphasize bringing new test strip technology intended for testing human specimens in clinical settings to support on-site clinical decision-making; and (3) include guidance on available authorization pathways for test strips described in paragraphs (1) and (2).
Section 4 would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study how the availability, accessibility, and use of drug-checking supplies, including test strips, affect overdose frequency, overdose deaths, and participation in substance use disorder treatment. This is a requirement to investigate those effects, not a finding that particular effects have occurred.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall— (1) conduct a study on the impact of the availability, accessibility, and usage of drug checking supplies, including test strips, on frequency of overdose, overdose deaths, and engagement in substance use disorder treatment
The Secretary would have to submit a report on that study to Congress within two years after enactment. The deadline depends on enactment; the text does not set a calendar date.
not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, submit to Congress a report on the study conducted under paragraph (1).
Section 5 would define a test strip as a rapid, single-use diagnostic that can detect a substance mixed into a drug or present in a human sample when that substance may increase illness or death. The definition includes substances such as fentanyl, xylazine, other synthetic opioids, and emerging substances.
the term test strip means a rapid response, single use diagnostic that can be used to detect the adulteration of a drug with, or the presence in a human specimen of, any substance that may lead to increased morbidity or mortality, such as fentanyl, xylazine, or another synthetic opioid or emerging substance.
The supplied action snapshot, updated August 1, 2026, records introduction in the House and referrals to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and its Health Subcommittee on February 25, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2026-08-01T08:06:23Z.
2025-02-25: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. 2025-02-25: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. 2025-02-25: Introduced in House
The August 1, 2026 action snapshot records subcommittee consideration and forwarding to the full committee by voice vote on June 25, 2026. It also records committee consideration on July 20 and 21, followed by a 48–0 vote on July 21 ordering the bill reported—a committee action, not passage by the full House.
Source snapshot updated 2026-08-01T08:06:23Z. 2026-07-21: Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 48 - 0. 2026-07-21: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held 2026-07-20: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held 2026-06-25: Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote. 2026-06-25: Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-25. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential treatment was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. The bill's intended participants do not alone constitute such a benefit. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Aug 1, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI