Rep. Zeldin Helps Send H.R.6, with Dozens of Bipartisan Initiatives to Combat Opioid Abuse Epidemic, to President’s Desk
Long Island, NY - October 1, 2018 - Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) issued the following statement after House passage today of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (H.R. 6), which combined dozens of separate bipartisan bills to bolster efforts for prevention, treatment and recovery and now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law:
“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 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.”
Among the initiatives passed are measures to develop follow-up protocols after an opioid overdose patient is discharged, allow the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research non-addictive pain medications, streamline the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) process of intercepting illicit drugs, establish comprehensive opioid recovery centers, tackle ever-changing synthetic drugs and crack down on foreign shipments of illicit drugs.