Byrne, House Act to Address Opioid Crisis

Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL) this week voted for 18 bills designed to address the ongoing opioid and heroin crisis across the United States.

The United States is in the midst of a serious crisis due to the abuse of prescription opioid drugs and heroin use. Studies show that approximately 46,000 Americans die because of a drug overdose each year, which is over 130 deaths a day.

Byrne said: “No community in the United States has been immune to the opioid crisis. Right here in Southwest Alabama, I have heard far too many heartbreaking stories about the dangers of prescription drug abuse. We simply cannot afford to sit on the sidelines any longer.

“This week, the House passed 18 different bills to help prevent and treat opioid addiction and abuse while also ensuring our nation’s drug laws are working to stop the flow of illegal drugs. These bills ranged from legislation to help our veterans with opioid addiction to a bill providing assistance to babies infected in the womb to legislation to ensure best practices when prescribing opioid pain medicines.  I was pleased to see such strong bipartisan support for these bills as we work to make a real difference on behalf of the American people.”

An opioid is a type of narcotic derived from the opium poppy, which includes drugs such as morphine, codeine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone. While the drugs are often prescribed in response to injuries and body pains, the drugs are prone to abuse and addiction.

The 18 bills passed this week by the House of Representatives include:

• H.R. 4641: To provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medicine;
• H.R. 5046: Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act of 2016;
• H.R. 4063: Jason Simcakoski PROMISE Act;
• H.R. 4985: Kingpin Designation Improvement Act of 2016;
• H.R. 5048: Good Samaritan Assessment Act of 2016;
• H.R. 5052: OPEN Act;
• H.R. 4843: Improving Safe Care for the Prevention of Infant Abuse and Neglect Act;
• H.R. 4978: NAS Healthy Babies Act;
• H.R. 3680: Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdoses Act of 2015;
• H.R. 3691: Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015;
• H.R. 1818: Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2015;
• H.R. 4969: John Thomas Decker Act of 2016;
• H.R. 4586: Lali’s Law;
• H.R. 4599: Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016;
• H.R. 4976: Opioid Review Modernization Act of 2016;
• H.R. 4982: Examining Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Act of 2016;
• H.R. 4981: Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Expansion and Modernization Act; and
• H.R. 1725: National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2015.