Although it has been law for an entire year, the federal government has not fully implemented the bipartisan SUPPORT Act to tackle the opioid crisis, said U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) during his Oct. 25 weekly address.
“Passing the SUPPORT Act is just the beginning,” said Rep. Burgess, an original cosponsor last year of H.R. 6, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act. “It is now our responsibility to make certain that the laws Congress put in place are being implemented and enforced as Congress intended.”
The sweeping SUPPORT Act, sponsored in June 2018 by U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) and 16 total cosponsors, including Rep. Burgess and U.S. Reps. Steve Stivers (R-OH) and Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), includes numerous provisions to address the nation’s opioid crisis, including those related to Medicare and Medicaid; public health; the Food and Drug Administration and controlled substances; and comprehensive recovery centers; among many others, according to the law’s text.
Rep. Burgess noted that the law “is a tool in the toolbox for communities and federal agencies to successfully combat the epidemic.”
Not only does the law provide “realistic solutions that span the breadth of the crisis — from prevention and treatment to education and enforcement,” the congressman said it also “improves treatment for those with substance use disorders, it also fights deadly fentanyl use, bolsters the efforts of agents at our international mail facilities, and provides vital resources for new innovative alternatives to treating pain.”
And while Rep. Burgess said provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that deaths from a drug overdose are declining for the first time in decades, he said Congress must do more, and he called for congressional bipartisanship in moving forward on the continued implementation of the law’s provisions.
“Together, we can resolve this epidemic. Together, Congress can put forward patient-centered bipartisan legislation to provide real solutions to Americans battling addiction,” Rep. Burgess said. “Together, Congress can ensure that the laws we are putting in place are working.”