Issue Position: Opioid Epidemic
Issue Position
Andy Barr is Getting Results
*Andy created the Sixth District Drug Abuse Task Force made up of professionals in prevention, education, law enforcement, treatment and recovery to tear down barriers in communication and make recommendations to facilitate action.
*Andy voted for the largest investment to date, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, which is comprised of 58 individual opioid bills to improve prevention, treatment, and recovery initiatives to fight the opioid epidemic throughout our communities. This package of bills passed the House on June 22, 2018.
*Andy introduced the Transitional Housing for Recovery in Viable Environments (THRIVE) Act, which allocates a limited number of Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers for transitional housing non-profits, similar to many successful models in the Sixth District. These vouchers would be used to help individuals in recovery maintain sobriety, rise above government dependency, and gain valuable life and employment skills. This legislation was included in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act.
*Andy supported a $4 billion investment in funding for opioid treatment and prevention included in the FY18 Consolidated Appropriations Act.
*Andy helped pass the 21st Century Cures Act, which funds new research and treatment for opioid addiction.
*Andy introduced and passed an amendment to enhance resources for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program, bringing total funding to $280 million and helping a number of Sixth District counties fight drug trafficking.
*Andy helped secure a $2.6 million grant for Chrysalis House in Lexington to provide treatment and recovery services to pregnant and postpartum women and their children struggling with addiction.
*Andy helped secure a $4.9 million federal grant for the University of Kentucky's PATHways/Beyond Birth Team which serves pregnant women battling addiction in rural areas.
*Andy voted for the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which included his amendment recommended by the University of Kentucky to commission a federal study on the treatment options and outcomes for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome suffered by infants born to mothers who take opioids during pregnancy.
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