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Congressional Daily Record
This section is about changes proposed to a bill or resolution. It mentions committees such as Committee on Veterans' Affairs, members such as Shelley Moore Capito.
Issued
June 24, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextSA 6175. Mrs. CAPITO (for herself, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Justice, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Booker, and Mrs. Britt) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place in title X, insert the following:
SEC. 10__. PILOT PROGRAM ON INCLUSION OF CERTAIN NON-OPIOID
PAIN MEDICATIONS IN THE NATIONAL FORMULARY OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) In General.—Commencing not later than 90 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall carry out a pilot program (in this
section referred to as the “pilot program”) under which the
Secretary shall include one or more non-opioid pain
management drugs or biological products in the national
formulary of the Department of Veterans Affairs not later
than the earlier of—
(1) one year after the date on which the non-opioid pain
management drug or biological product becomes eligible for
temporary additional payment under section 1833(t)(16)(G) of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395l(t)(16)(G)) or
eligible for separate payment under section 416.174 of title
42, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations);
or
(2) 18 months after the date on which the non-opioid pain
management drug or biological product is approved by the Food
and Drug Administration.
(b) Duration.—The Secretary shall carry out the pilot
program for a three-year period beginning on the commencement
of the pilot program.
(c) Annual Review.—
(1) In general.—The Secretary shall—
(A) annually review the non-opioid pain management drugs or
biological products included in the national formulary of the
Department of Veterans Affairs under the pilot program; and
(B) remove such a drug or product from the national
formulary if—
(i) the risk of side effects is found to be significant; or
(ii) there are any changes to the status of the approval of
the drug or product by the Food and Drug Administration.
(2) Reports to congress.—Not later than 30 days after
reaching any decision to remove a non-opioid pain management
drug or biological product from the national formulary under
paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a
report that—
(A) identifies the drug or product; and
(B) explains the rationale for the decision.
(d) Report.—Not later than 60 days after the completion of
the pilot program, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives a report that includes the following:
(1) An analysis of the rates during the pilot program of
opioid utilization when non-opioid pain management drugs or
biological products were utilized versus non-utilized during
and after surgery, including prescription refills, as
compared to such rates during
the three years preceding the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(2) An analysis of the rates during the pilot program of
the utilization of non-opioid pain management drugs or
biological products during surgery, as compared to such rates
during the three years preceding the date of the enactment of
this Act.
(3) A comparison of the total cost of healthcare resource
utilization in the form of emergency department utilization,
re-admission, and discharge to an inpatient rehabilitation or
skilled nursing facility when utilizing non-opioid pain
management drugs or biological products versus non-
utilization.
(4) A recommendation on whether to continue or end the
pilot program.
(5) Any concerns or issues that have arisen from the
requirement to include one or more non-opioid pain management
drugs or biological products in the national formulary of the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
(e) Non-opioid Pain Management Drug or Biological Product
Defined.—In this section, the term “non-opioid pain
management drug or biological product” means a drug or
biological product approved, granted, or cleared by the Food
and Drug Administration to reduce postoperative pain, to
produce postsurgical or regional analgesia, or to treat acute
pain, without acting upon the body's opioid receptors.