Expanding Findings for Federal Opioid Research and Treatment Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BALDERSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3153, the Expanding Findings for Federal Opioid Research and Treatment, or EFFORT Act. This bill is of particular importance to me, as I represent an area that has been devastated by the opioid crisis over the past decade, and I am privileged to speak today on the important of this bill.

In my home state of Ohio, the rate of opioid-related deaths is more than double the national average. In this regard, Ohio ranks as one of the top-five states with the highest rates of opioid-related deaths. What's more alarming, however, is the rate at which the number of opioid overdoses have increased: twenty-eight percent from July 2016 through September 2017. That's barely more than a year during which opioid overdoses grew by nearly thirty percent. These statistics should terrify every parent, sibling, teacher, caregiver, and friend, because opioid addiction is not confined to any one geographic, socioeconomic, or other type of demographic. Rather, this epidemic is ravaging communities all around our country.

How did this epidemic start? Let's go back to 2012, when there were more opioid prescriptions in my home state of Ohio than there were people. Prescriptions to opioids were handed out like candy, and there was little-to-no regulation on these highly-addictive drugs. Someone could sustain a simple injury--say, to their knee or their back-- perhaps even have surgery, and be prescribed highly-addictive opioids for their pain. With no oversight, Americans everywhere were slowly becoming addicted to these substances, with their tolerance levels increasing, therefore requiring them to take higher doses to experience the same level of pain relief. Of course, these drugs are not cheap. Often times, when the drugs become too costly or a prescription ran out, these now-addicted opioid users would turn to street drugs, such as heroin, to feed their addiction. In Ohio, four out of five heroin addicts began their drug use with prescription painkillers.

Often times, once an addiction starts, it's near impossible to break the cycle. Truly, the best way to treat addiction is to stop it before it even starts. Of course, we know now that opioid addiction is completely preventable, and fighting this growing epidemic will take the work of many committed groups. This multifaceted crisis needs the support of police departments, communities, families and schools, government at all levels, and the medical and science communities. That's where the EFFORT Act comes in.

This critical piece of legislation will direct the National Science Foundation to study the effects of the opioid epidemic and will require this body to consult with the National Institute of Health--and vice versa--in their research of opioid addiction. I'm a firm believer that research is one of the most important tools in fighting illnesses like addiction. Of course, this is just one of many pieces in the vast puzzle of putting an end to the opioid epidemic. This bill is a step in the right direction, and we need to continue our efforts to fight this epidemic. I am proud to cosponsor the EFFORT Act, and I thank my colleague from Virginia, Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton for introducing this critical legislation. I urge my colleagues to pass H.R. 3153 so our country can better prevent opioid addiction.

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