Hoyer Co-Sponsors Opioid Program Act

Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) spoke on the House Floor recently, about the need to provide adequate funding to address the growing opioid crisis. He spoke in support of the Opioid Program Evaluation Act, which he co-sponsored with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Congress passed the legislation in early May.

Rep. Hoyer described the bill as helping “ensure future investments in the fight against opioid addiction are allocated in the most effective way possible. We owe that to the American people and we owe it to the effectiveness of our efforts against this scourge on our country.

The bill requires the Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services to develop metrics that evaluate opioid related grant programs. “Do they work? Are they worth the investment?” Rep. Hoyer said of the questions the evaluations would answer. “It will facilitate data collection and analysis in order to determine best practices, what works, and what doesn’t, so policymakers can best target resources.

“The opioid epidemic is a major public health challenge that requires and demands bipartisan cooperation and leadership across the branches and offices of our government at the federal, state, and local levels. This crisis has already quadrupled the rate of overdose deaths between 2000 and 2013, and continues to plague communities across the country. Between 2007 and 2014, 237 people in Southern Maryland died as a result of prescription opioid overdoses and 287 more died from using heroin — a drug to which those addicted to opioid painkillers often turn when they can no longer access prescription medications.

“This is a critical problem affecting lives and families across the nation, which is why the Congress must take action and is doing so on a bipartisan basis. In addition to the OPEN Act, the House is considering a number of bipartisan bills this week that will likely be adopted as part of an amendment to the legislation passed in the Senate, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, named CARA. Democratic members have been instrumental in writing these bills in such a way that the policies and programs they create have the greatest chance of saving lives and preventing addiction, and the good news is they have worked with their Republican colleagues and their Republican colleagues have worked with them. These bills reflect the seriousness with which Democrats and Republicans have been leading on this issue and the bipartisan nature of efforts in Congress to address the challenge.

“But it isn’t enough to enact these bills and the ones put forward by my Republican colleagues. We need to ensure that our efforts to combat opioid addiction receive the funding necessary to succeed. That funding is not in this bill, nor is it in some of the other bills that will be considered. It is nice to say that we ought to get something done, but if we do not apply the resources to accomplish the objective, it is empty rhetoric, political posturing. President Obama has requested $1.1 billion to fight opioid addiction. …

“The legislation is good, but if we don’t give it the resources to be implemented, it will not bring the relief that is needed. So as we work together to take these important steps to prevent opioid abuse and promote recovery, Congress needs to work together to ensure that these efforts are not left unfunded. I’m certain that there is a way we can work together to pay for them and help our communities fight this epidemic that has destroyed so many lives and devastated communities and families across this country.

“Again, I want to thank the Republican Leader, Mr. McCarthy. He and I found opportunities to work together and we believe those have had positive results. He’s partnered with me on this OPEN Act, and I hope we can keep working together to fund these initiatives and help end this scourge, the cancer, of opioid abuse and addiction in our country. If we do so, Americans will thank us, and they will think we have done a better job, frankly, than they think we are doing.”

For Congressman Hoyer’s remarks in full, click here for a link to the video.

For information about House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer, visit his Leader page.