	Background

The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 ( CARA; S. 524 ) aims to address the problem of opioid addiction in the United States. It passed t he Senate ( S. 524 ES) o n March 10, 2016 , and it passed the House with an amendment in the nature of a substitute ( S. 524 EAH) o n May 13, 2016 . The two versions of the bill differ substantially. The scope of the differences may be illustrated by their structures: The Senate bill has 28 sections organized in 8 titles, whereas the House bill has 69 sections organized in 18 titles . This report discusses selected differences and similarities between the Senate- and House-passed versions of S. 524 . Comparison of Senate- and House-Passed CARA

Both the House- and Senate-passed bills include provisions that would authorize new activities, provisions that would reauthorize and amend existing activities, and provisions that would codify activities already taking place. Few provisions, however, are directly comparable across the two bills. More often, the two bills include provisions addressing the same theme in different ways. Each bill also includes provisions for which the other bill has no comparable provisions; see Appendix A for a summary of the Senate bill and Appendix B for a summary of the House bill. Parallel Provisions in Both Bills

The bills include two parallel provisions, which share the same headings and would require or authorize similar activities: (1) Pain Management Best Practices Interagency Task Force and (2) Grants for Treatment of Pregnant and Postpartum Women.
The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (CARA; S. 524) aims to address the problem of opioid addiction in the United States. It passed the Senate (S. 524 ES) on March 10, 2016, and it passed the House with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (S. 524 EAH) on May 13, 2016. The two versions of the bill differ substantially. The scope of the differences may be illustrated by their structures: The Senate bill has 28 sections organized in 8 titles, whereas the House bill has 69 sections organized in 18 titles. This report discusses selected differences and similarities between the Senate- and House-passed versions of S. 524.
Both bills include provisions that would authorize new activities, provisions that would reauthorize and amend existing activities, and provisions that would codify activities already taking place. Few provisions, however, are directly comparable across the two bills. The bills include two parallel provisions, which share the same headings and would require or authorize similar activities: (1) Pain Management Best Practices Interagency Task Force and (2) Grants for Treatment of Pregnant and Postpartum Women.
More often, the two bills include provisions addressing the same theme in different ways. Common themes include comprehensive opioid abuse grants, accountability of grantees, veterans, criminal justice provisions, and access to naloxone to reverse opioid overdose.
Each bill also includes provisions for which the other bill has no comparable provisions; see Appendix A for a summary of the Senate bill and Appendix B for a summary of the House bill.