The House of Representatives passed a series of bipartisan bills last week that aim to curb the nation’s opioid and prescription drug epidemic with bipartisan support.
U.S. Reps. Barbara Comstock (R-VA), Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Rodney Davis (R-IL), Jeff Denham (R-CA), Bob Dold (R-IL), Pat Tiberi (R-OH), Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) and David Young (R-IA) were all instrumental in passage of the legislation.
The House combined 18 smaller bills into a single legislative package and passed a motion to go to conference to reconcile differences with legislation approved by the Senate to curb the nation’s heroin and prescription drug epidemic.
Comstock said that the House legislation would address education and prevention, treatment and services, and interdiction of deadly drugs.
“We have held forums throughout the district addressing the heroin epidemic where we have brought the community together to discuss the challenges we face and how we can coordinate services and efforts,” Comstock said. “One such story was from Nick Yacoub, who is from Great Falls and has battled addiction. Nick has been drug free for over eight years and is now a leader within the recovery community and has helped others by steering them off the dangerous and deadly path of drugs.”
Comstock said that the “comprehensive and bipartisan legislation” passed by the House would empower all levels of government, community stakeholders and family units to address the growing problem of heroin and prescription drug abuse.
Curbelo praised passage of the bill and lauded provisions that would establish a Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force, fund grants for opioid treatment services and training for first responders, and establish grant programs through the Department of Justice to help states and veterans fight drug abuse.
“Opioid abuse is an epidemic that unfortunately affects citizens of all socioeconomic classes and all regions across the country,” Curbelo said. “These 18 bills will help to combat the misuse of drugs and make our neighborhoods safer places for everyone. Addiction is a disease, and it’s important that we do what we can to help the individuals and their families who are struggling with this serious problem. I am optimistic that the passage of this bill package will elicit positive changes in our communities.”
Davis, who voted in favor of all 18 of the individual bills, noted that someone dies of a drug overdose every 12 minutes in the United States.
“Prescription drug abuse is on the rise and making its way into our communities,” Davis said. “The number of opioids such as Vicodin, OxyContin and codeine prescribed in the U.S. have quadrupled since 1999 and so have the number of deaths from overdoses. This is an epidemic that’s not limited to any one socioeconomic status or geographical area — addiction can happen to anyone. The bills passed by the House this week will help our states and law enforcement fight this epidemic by clarifying guidelines for physician oversight, reforming drug treatment programs, and increasing training for first responders.”
Denham noted that provisions of the legislative package would take steps to reduce the impact of opioid abuse and increase resources and support for particularly vulnerable populations like veterans, pregnant women and newborn children.
“Other bills would create a grant program to support state and local government efforts to address addiction and abuse as well as establish an inter-agency task force to form and institute best practices for pain management and the prescription of opioids,” Denham said. “The Senate has already passed their own version of opioid abuse legislation, and with the House package green-lit today, both chambers will meet to create a final comprehensive version that can be sent to the president’s desk. I am proud to stand with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fight this disease and look forward to the final legislation being signed into law.”
A bill introduced by Dold to increase access to the overdose antidote naloxone was included in the bill. “Lali’s Law” was named after Alex Laliberte, a resident of Buffalo Grove, Ill., who died from a drug overdose.
“Sadly, Alex’s life was cut short before he ever had the chance to seek help for his opioid dependency,” Dold said. “In Alex’s memory, our bipartisan bill Lali’s Law will give thousands of others a second chance at recovery and spare their families from unimaginable heartbreak.”
Tiberi added that the opioid epidemic is one of the fastest growing healthcare crises in Ohio, and that it is breaking up families and putting veterans on the street.
“We have more work to do to address this growing crisis but the bipartisan, bicameral solutions we advanced this week will help us combat this epidemic and help our communities prevent opioid addiction,” Tiberi said. “It is an important reminder of why we are here—to listen and work together to help those struggling the very most.”
Poliquin said that he has spent the last several months meeting with people at the frontlines of the nation’s battle against opioid abuse, including treatment providers, social service networks, law enforcement officials, families and recovering addicts.
“(Last) week, the House acted to address this alarming epidemic in Maine and across our nation,” Poliquin said. “I have lost a family member to drug addiction so know firsthand the harm that it can cause. On behalf of all the Maine victims of this terrible epidemic, and the dedicated people working to end this heartbreaking situation, I am proud to act with Republicans and Democrats this week to get this critical legislation passed.”
Young noted that one of the bipartisan bills that he supported, H.R. 4641, would establish a task force of medical professionals, federal agencies and other stakeholders to assess and share best practices for pain medication prescription and long-term pain management.
“In the U.S. House of Representatives, we passed a number of bipartisan bills aimed at helping pregnant and postpartum women and their children to overcome opiate addiction, bills to keep our youth off prescription drugs, and several others to improve treatment programs and help people recover,” Young said. “I also supported the Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Expansion and Modernization Act, to improve quality and access to opioid use disorder treatment. The scourge of opioids is unique in that it can affect anyone. While addressing this epidemic in Congress requires a thoughtful and pragmatic approach, as a community we must also stop and reevaluate the stigma surrounding addiction to encourage those suffering to seek and get needed treatment, recuperate and heal.”
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), who introduced the Senate-approved Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act (CARA), applauded House passage of the bipartisan legislation.
“I’d like to congratulate the House for acting in a bipartisan way to address this issue,” Portman said. “While I remain concerned that the House approach is not truly comprehensive, I am hopeful we can resolve our differences rather quickly. Heroin and prescription drugs are devastating our families and communities, and I remain committed to ensuring that we deliver a bill to the president’s desk that combats this epidemic in a comprehensive way.”