Faso Takes Part in Signing of Bipartisan Opioids Package
Press Release
Congressman John Faso (R-Kinderhook) today was invited to join President Trump at the White House for the enactment of H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, a bipartisan package aimed at comprehensively addressing the opioid epidemic through prevention, treatment and enforcement.
This law includes multiple measures previously voted on in the House and focuses on combating the opioid epidemic through treatment and recovery efforts, prevention, protecting our communities, and fighting the deadly synthetic opioids--including fentanyl.
Congressman Faso was a leading advocate for two proposals included in the bipartisan package--H.R. 5788, Securing the International Mail Against Opioids Act (STOP Act) and H.R. 5685, the Medicare Opioid Safety Education Act. Both bills passed the House with wide bipartisan support in June 2018.
"The signing of this landmark bipartisan legislation builds upon our commitment to tackling the devastating opioid epidemic head-on. This package will give our communities the resources they need to address this deadly crisis and better support patients who are struggling with addiction," said Faso. "This law takes important steps to secure our communities, and includes priorities I have been advocating for, such as the STOP Act, which will stem the flow of illicit synthetic drugs through our borders and into our communities."
Background
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 bill here.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were over 72,000 overdose deaths in 2017. Of that number, 30,000 deaths are attributed to synthetic opioids, nearly 16,000 to Heroin, and almost 15,000 to natural or semi-synthetic opioids.
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