Lance bill to fight key aspect of opioid crisis passes House

Legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) to combat the spread of infectious diseases related to America’s ongoing opioid disaster received approval this week by the U.S. House as one of 26 bills to help solve the nationwide crisis.

“New Jersey communities are not immune from the opioid crisis – too many of our neighborhoods have known heartache from the scourge of drug addiction. But Congress has taken action,” Rep. Lance said.

Rep. Lance unveiled the Eliminating Opioid-Related Infectious Diseases Act of 2018, H.R. 5353, on March 20 with original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA). The measure also counted U.S. Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Greg Walden (R-OR), and Rodney Davis (R-IL) as among its total 14 cosponsors.

The congressman said the spread of infectious diseases, such as HIV, hepatitis C and other infections, are “a challenging aspect” of the nation’s opioid crisis as “families and children of those addicted are being exposed to terrible infections at an alarming rate.”

“Infectious diseases compound and complicate the lifelong path towards recovery from a substance use disorder that millions in our country are navigating today,” added Rep. Kennedy.

“We have to stop the spread of these diseases before an already bad situation reaches a viral threat,” said Rep. Lance, a member of the House Bipartisan Heroin Task Force.

H.R. 5353, among other provisions, would authorize the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) to undertake an initiative with states to improve education, surveillance and treatment of infections associated with injection drug use, which is considered a common route for the transmission of blood-borne infections, according to the CDC.

“In our efforts to confront an opioid epidemic that has touched every American community, we must invest in proven strategies that prevent cases of HIV, hepatitis C and similar infections,” said Rep. Kennedy, pointing out that House passage of H.R. 5353 brings the country “one step closer to treating this epidemic as the public health crisis that it is and ensuring the CDC has the resources to respond.”

According to a statement from Rep. Lance’s office, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, on which the congressman serves, passed the bills in a marathon session dedicated to fighting the opioid crisis. The approved bills now head to the U.S. Senate for consideration.