Suffolk County, NY - June 19, 2018 - Following his support of 26 bipartisan bills that passed the House of Representatives earlier this week to combat the heroin and opioid abuse epidemic, Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), member of the House Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic, issued the following statement after voting in favor of an additional 10 bipartisan bills aimed at tackling this epidemic, the leading cause of death for Americans under 50, through prevention, treatment and recovery. Just this week, Rep. Zeldin supported a total of 36 bipartisan bills to combat the epidemic.
“Our nation has been debilitated by the rise of the heroin and opioid abuse epidemic, and with each death this heartbreaking issue continues to become increasingly personal”, said Congressman Zeldin. “This is a disease claiming lives, tearing apart families and destroying our communities. I’ve been to too many wakes as a Member of Congress where a young man or young woman was being buried due to an overdose. Even one young life lost is too many. These are our children, and when it comes to our sons and daughters this couldn’t possibly be any more urgent of a crisis. From law enforcement to local elected officials, medical professionals to members of local community groups, everyone has a role to play in eradicating this devastating epidemic and I am pleased to see so many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle working together to eradicate this devastating disease.”
In 2016, Congressman Zeldin helped lead the effort to pass into law the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), which provides $8.3 billion in federal funding to help combat the heroin and opioid abuse epidemic through treatment, education, enforcement and prevention. As a member of the House Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic, Rep. Zeldin has and continues to support legislative initiatives that provide our communities with the tools and resources necessary to combat this growing epidemic.
A full list of all of the bipartisan bills passed this week are as follows:
- H.R. 449 - Synthetic Drug Awareness Act of 2018
- H.R. 4284 - INFO Act
- H.R. 4684 - Ensuring Access to Quality Sober Living Act of 2018
- H.R. 5002 - ACE Research Act
- H.R. 5009 - Jessie's Law
- H.R. 5041 - Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act
- H.R. 5102 - Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Act of 2018 (this is missing a digit)
- H.R. 5176 - Preventing Overdoses While in Emergency Rooms Act
- H.R. 5228 - SCREEN Act
- H.R. 5261 - TEACH to Combat Addiction Act of 2018
- H.R. 5272 - To ensure that programs and activities that are funded by a grant, cooperative agreement, loan, or loan guarantee from the Department of Health and Human Services, and whose purpose is to prevent or treat a mental health or substance use disorder, are evidence-based
- H.R. 5327 - Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers Act of 2018
- H.R. 5329 - Poison Center Network Enhancement Act of 2018
- H.R. 5353 - Eliminating Opioid Related Infectious Diseases Act of 2018
- H.R. 5473 - Better Pain Management Through Better Data Act of 2018
- H.R. 5483 - Special Registration for Telemedicine Clarification Act of 2018
- H.R. 5582 - Abuse Deterrent Access Act of 2018
- H.R. 5583 - To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to require States to annually report on certain adult health quality measures
- H.R. 5587 - Peer Support Communities of Recovery Act
- H.R. 5685 - Medicare Opioid Safety Education Act of 2018
- H.R. 5800 - Medicaid IMD ADDITIONAL INFO Act
- H.R. 5812 - CONNECTIONS Act
- S. 916 - Ensuring Patient Access to Substance Use Disorder Treatments Act of 2018
- H.R. 4275 - Empowering Pharmacists in the Fight Against Opioid Abuse Act
- H.R. 5197 - ALTO Act
- H.R. 5294 - Treating Barriers to Prosperity Act of 2018
- H.R. 5752 - Stop Illicit Drug Importation Act of 2018
- H.R. 6902 - REGROUP Act of 2018
- H.R. 5889 - Recognizing Early Childhood Trauma Related to Substance Abuse Act of 2018
- H.R. 5890 - Assisting States’ Implementation of Plans of Safe Care Act
- H.R. 5891 - Improving the Federal Response to Families Impacted by Substance Use Disorder Act
- H.R. 5892 - To establish an Advisory Committee on Opioids and the Workplace to advise the Secretary of Labor on actions the Department of Labor can take to address the impact of opioid abuse on the workplace
- H.R. 2147 - Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act of 2018
- H.R. 5788 - Securing the International Mail Against Opioids Act of 2018
- H.R. 5735 - Transitional Housing for Recovery in Viable Environments Demonstration Program Act
- H.R. 2851 - Stop the Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogues Act of 2017