Faso Supports Comprehensive Package to Fight the Opioid Crisis
Comprehensive Package, H.R. 6, Includes Numerous Bills Passed in the House Over Past Two Weeks
Washington D.C. – Congressman John Faso (R-Kinderhook) today voted in support of H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. Over the past two weeks, the House has passed over four dozen bills to continue the House’s fight against the opioid crisis. The proposals center around treatment and recovery, prevention, protecting our communities, and fighting fentanyl. Many of those proposals have been included in H.R. 6, which passed today by a vote of 396—14.
The two-week-long effort included the passage of two bills that Congressman Faso has been a leading advocate for during consideration. H.R. 5788, Securing the International Mail Against Opioids Act (STOP Act) and H.R. 5685, the Medicare Opioid Safety Education Act both overwhelmingly passed the House. Each of these bills are included in H.R. 6.
“The past two weeks, the House continued its fight against the opioid epidemic by passing over four dozen bills that create solutions for this situation,” said Faso. “We need to do all we can to empower local officials and private organizations to fight this crisis on the ground, along with creating national standards like the STOP Act. These two weeks were another positive step forward in a situation that will need further attention from local, state, and the federal government.”
H.R. 5788 would aid in preventing the shipment of synthetic opioids into the United States through the international mail by implementing a new system to gather and act on advanced tracking data that would flag packages susceptible to include synthetic opioids.Read more about the STOP Act here.
H.R. 5685 would substantially improve opioid educational materials in the ‘Medicare & You’ informational booklet by adding available opioid alternatives and additional educational information. Learn more about this legislation here.
Two million Americans will suffer from addiction to opioids in 2018. In New York, 3,638 people died from an opioid overdose in 2016.
161 patient advocate groups wrote a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urging the House to swiftly pass H.R. 6 in a bipartisan fashion.
