To reauthorize the rural emergency medical service training and equipment assistance program, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill reauthorizes the Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) program, which provides grants to rural emergency medical services for training and equipment. The authorization is extended from 2023 through 2028. It adds two new grant-eligible purposes: training EMS personnel on mental health and substance use disorders, and acquiring FDA-approved drugs and devices for emergency overdose treatment (such as naloxone). The bill also transfers administrative oversight from the Administrator of HRSA to the Assistant Secretary and relocates the program within the Public Health Service Act.
Who Benefits
- Rural EMS agencies and personnel: Gain continued and expanded federal funding for training and equipment, including new categories for mental health response and overdose treatment
- Rural communities: Benefit from better-trained and better-equipped first responders, particularly for mental health emergencies and drug overdoses
- People experiencing mental health crises or overdoses in rural areas: More likely to encounter EMS personnel trained and equipped to help them
Who Bears the Burden
- Federal government (HHS/PHSA appropriations): Must fund the reauthorized program through 2028
- The Assistant Secretary (HHS): Takes on oversight responsibilities previously held by the HRSA Administrator
Key Provisions
- Extends grant program authorization from FY2024 through FY2028
- Adds training on mental health and substance use disorder emergency care as eligible grant use
- Adds acquisition of FDA-approved overdose treatment drugs/devices as eligible grant use
- Transfers program oversight from HRSA Administrator to the Assistant Secretary
- Relocates the authorizing section within the Public Health Service Act from Section 330J to Section 553
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Reauthorizes and expands the rural emergency medical service (EMS) training and equipment assistance program under the Public Health Service Act, extending funding authorization through 2028 and adding provisions for mental health/substance use disorder training and overdose treatment equipment.
Key Policy Areas
Healthcare, Rural Affairs, Mental Health, Substance Abuse
Primary Purpose
Reauthorizes and expands the rural emergency medical service (EMS) training and equipment assistance program under the Public Health Service Act, extending funding authorization through 2028 and adding provisions for mental health/substance use disorder training and overdose treatment equipment.
Policy Domains
SIREN Reauthorization - Rural EMS Training and Equipment
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Rural EMS agencies
- Rural EMS personnel
- Rural communities
- People experiencing overdoses or mental health crises in rural areas
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Federal government (HHS appropriations)
- Assistant Secretary for Health
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Enrolled (Passed Congress)Reported by Mr. Sanders, with an amendment
Passed House (inferred from enr version)
Passed Senate (inferred from enr version)
Enrolled Bill (inferred from enr version)
Mr. Durbin (for himself and Ms. Collins) introduced the following …
Mr. Durbin (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Tester, and Ms. …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_assistant_secretary"
- → Assistant Secretary for Health (HHS), replacing the HRSA Administrator as program overseer
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology