The Watertown Daily Times - Stefanik-Backed Heroin Bills Passed by House

News Article

By Brian Molongoski

The U.S. House of Representatives climbed enthusiastically aboard the opioid addiction crisis train this week, passing several bills that provide substantial resources and additional oversight by federal agencies to curb the heroin epidemic.

U.S. Rep. Elise M. Stefanik, R-Willsboro, said she is particularly proud of the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act, which the House passed Thursday after months in the making. A member of the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force in Congress, Ms. Stefanik helped develop the bill.

The bill targets the "four corners" of addiction: prevention, treatment, recovery and law enforcement, and establishes a new program within the Department of Justice that provides federal resources for law enforcement and increased prevention and education efforts.

The bill also provides more resources for veterans treatment programs, which Ms. Stefanik said is especially important for the 21st Congressional District.

Ms. Stefanik recently paid a visit to St. Joseph's Treatment Center in Saranac Lake, where she saw firsthand how the center provides treatment for veterans suffering from drug addiction and PTSD. She recalled meeting a young veteran who told her the treatment he received from St. Joseph's saved his life.

The bill also authorizes a $103 million appropriation annually from 2017 to 2021, allowing DOJ to make grants to state, local, and tribal governments for programs to combat opioid abuse. She noted that the allocation is separate from the DOJ's asset forfeiture program, which allows law enforcement agencies to keep a portion of seized cash and property if the cases are prosecuted under federal law.

DOJ had suspended the program in December 2015, but it was reinstated in March.

In Jefferson County, the program keeps afloat the drug task force run by Watertown City Police, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and district attorney's office.

In addition to the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act, Ms. Stefanik highlighted two other bills passed by the House that target the epidemic, including legislation that establishes an interagency task force to better manage the prescribing of pain medications.

Ms. Stefanik said one of the many driving factors behind the epidemic is the over-prescribing of pain medications, and the task force will help curtail that.

"It's important to have all the different federal agencies involved in how we prescribe pain medication," she said.

The House also passed an Infant Plan of Safe Care Improvement Act, which protects mothers and babies addicted to opiates or recovering from an addiction by ensuring states are implementing child welfare policies.

Working with the heroin task force, Ms. Stefanik said the House's package had been in the works for many months, and she hopes the bills can get to the president's desk soon. The Senate passed its companion bills in March.

Ms. Stefanik noted that because the heroin epidemic affects every Congressional district in the country, more bipartisan efforts to end the problem are needed.

Source