Members of the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force outlined a legislative agenda on Tuesday that includes measures that would crack down on synthetic drug trafficking and would bolster drug prevention, treatment and recovery efforts.
The task force’s agenda for the 115th Congress consists of eight bills, including measures introduced by task force co-chairs U.S. Reps. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) and Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH), as well as Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). The task force, formed in 2015, now has 90 Republican and Democrat members in the House.
Task force member U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) said the legislators were committed to working across the aisle to address the country’s opioid crisis together.
“This epidemic is not limited to any one political party, socioeconomic status, or geographical area — addiction can happen to anyone,” Davis said. “Last year, we passed the first major legislation addressing opioid addiction in more than 40 years and today we committed to building on this success.”
With Illinois grappling with the eighth highest drug overdose rate in the country, Davis said he continues to engage local law enforcement, first responders and health providers on ways to address the issue.
Among the task force’s legislative priorities is the Addiction Recovery Through Family Health Accounts Act, H.R. 1575, that MacArthur introduced. The measure would enable families to use tax-advantaged savings accounts to pay for substance abuse treatment.
“The opioid crisis has touched so many families and communities across the United States,” MacArthur said. “It has always been my belief that we must find a balance between showing compassion for those suffering with substance abuse, while stopping the flow of drugs into our communities and those who profit from other people’s misery. I believe our legislative agenda represents this balance and I’m grateful members from both sides of the aisle could come together on this critical issue.”
Fitzpatrick’s Road to Recovery Act, H.R. 2938, which would remove coverage barriers for substance abuse treatment under Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, was also included in the task force’s legislative agenda.
“Drug overdoses involving prescription opioids and heroin have nearly quadrupled since 1999 and are now the leading cause of accidental death,” Fitzpatrick said.
In Pennsylvania, Fitzpatrick noted that drug-related deaths and opioid addiction rates rose 20 percent in one year, including a 50-percent increase in his district alone.
“It’s clear this epidemic is destroying precious lives and costing us resources,” Fitzpatrick said. “Fighting back against this addiction crisis requires a multi-faceted approach and the bold, bipartisan legislative agenda laid out by the Task Force responds to the real-world concerns expressed by local lawmakers, community leaders and healthcare professionals across the county who endeavor to tackle this epidemic each day. Together, we can win this fight.”
Kuster, meanwhile, introduced the VA Prescription Data Accountability Act, H.R. 1545, which would enable the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) secretary to disclose certain patient information to state substance monitoring programs.
“The opioid addiction epidemic is a crisis that transcends politics,” Kuster said. “We know that tackling substance use requires a comprehensive approach that takes into account law enforcement, prevention, treatment and recovery. The legislative agenda we released (on Tuesday) represents the common sense approach that the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force is committed to pursuing.”
Additional legislative priorities include Jessie’s Law, H.R. 1554, which would display patient opioid addiction histories in medical records to inform physician prescribing decisions; the Stem the Tide of Overdose Prevalence from Opiate Drugs (STOP OD) Act, H.R. 664; the International Narcotics Trafficking Emergency Response by Detecting Incoming Contraband with Technology (INTERDICT) Act, H.R. 2142; and the Synthetic Drugs Awareness Act, H.R. 449.