You can watch the full video here.

Today on the House floor, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02), the co-founder and co-chair of the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic, called for the Senate to promptly pass the 21^st Century Cures Act, legislation that includes $1 billion in funding to support efforts to tackle the opioid epidemic. Last month, Kuster led a letter to House and Senate leadership calling for the inclusion of funding to address the opioid crisis.

“Sadly, last year in my home state of New Hampshire we had the third highest opioid overdose rate per capita in the entire country,” said Congresswoman Kuster. “But this crisis is not unique to my state. Across America, communities and families are shaken from the deaths of loved ones due to overdose. Opioid addiction is truly a national public health crisis. As founder and co-chair of the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic, I urge the Senate to promptly pass this important bill.”

The Cures Act authorizes a total of $1 billion including $500 million in each of Fiscal Years 2017 and 2018 to address the opioid epidemic. The funds are to be provided to state agencies that are on the frontlines of the effort to combat the opioid crisis. The grants will be awarded directly to the states and are intended to supplement existing efforts funded via grants previously provided through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Those programs are broadly applicable to treatment, prevention, education, and recovery.  All states will be entitled to funding, but the amounts will be prioritized by incidence and prevalence of opioid abuse and addiction. 

Congresswoman Kuster has been at the forefront of the fight to address the heroin and opioid crisis at the federal level and in New Hampshire, and she has been an outspoken advocate for the need to support medical, law enforcement, treatment, and recovery efforts.

Kuster has hosted numerous roundtables with law enforcement, treatment providers, and recovery experts throughout New Hampshire and brought the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic to New Hampshire for a field hearing to hear directly from local stakeholders. She supported the passage of 18 legislative items targeting the opioid epidemic, many of which were championed by the Task Force that Kuster co-founded. In recognition of her leadership on this issue, Kuster was appointed to the conference committee tasked with producing the final version of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) – a role typically reserved for more senior members.

###