Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022

Floor Speech

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Mr. ARMSTRONG. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act.

This bipartisan mental health package includes my legislation, the Summer Barrow Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Act. This bill reauthorizes several substance use disorder programs administered by SAMHSA that help local communities provide substance use disorder and mental health services to those most in need.

This is particularly important for rural States like North Dakota, where individuals struggle to access all treatment options that may work for them.

The package also includes the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act, or MAT Act. The MAT Act would remove the burdensome requirement that a healthcare practitioner apply for a separate waiver, known as the X waiver, through the Drug Enforcement Agency to prescribe certain drugs for substance use disorder treatment.

The X waiver requirement limits access to lifesaving treatment, which is particularly painful considering recent news that drug overdose deaths hit a record high of more than 107,000 in 2021.

Lastly, I offer my support for an amendment I offered with my friend Congressman Trone of Maryland that will come to the floor soon. Our amendment would add the State Opioid Response Grants Act to this program.

This amendment will provide $8.75 billion over 5 years in flexible financing for State Opioid Response grants and Tribal Opioid Response grants, providing States and Tribes certainty and stability to implement prevention, treatment, and recovery.

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