HHS studies drug testing in emergency overdose care.

What it does

The bill tells HHS to study drug testing when people overdose. It looks at how often hospitals test, what it costs, and if it helps. Within 18 months, HHS must say if hospitals should test for the drug. The guidance will help doctors know what their tests can find.

Who it affects

People who overdose get better information about testing. Hospitals and doctors will get guidance on drug testing. The bill costs nothing and makes no new rules.

One thing to notice

HHS guidance may change how hospitals test for drugs nationwide. This happens even though the bill does not make a binding rule.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

65 cosponsors: 35 Democrats, 30 Republicans.

• Mar 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Mar 10, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
• Jun 25, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Jul 21, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 46 - 0”
• Sep 15, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote”
• Sep 15, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Guthrie moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

5 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 9 reports from Dec 2025 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $6,552,627 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 25 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 78% of bills with any report.

Ted Lieu, who sponsored the bill, received $654,779 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• American Medical Association — $5,643,000 in 2 reports
• American College of Emergency Physicians — $468,727 in 1 report
• American Society of Health-system Pharmacists — $260,000 in 1 report
• Emergency Nurses Association — $140,900 in 3 reports
• Emergency Nurses Association — $40,000 in 2 reports

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• guidance — Official advice from the government on how to do something.
• overdose — Taking too much of a drug, which can make a person very sick or cause death.
• HHS — The Department of Health and Human Services, a government agency.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.