**Earlier this week, Kuster spoke on the House Floor urging passage of this legislation**

**Today, Kuster published an op-ed in Newsweek with the Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force urging passage of the bill**

**Authorization for the programs in the 2018 SUPPORT Act expired on September 30, 2023**

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02), co-chair of the Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force, led the House of Representatives in passing her legislation to address the overdose crisis. The Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization (SUPPORT) Act is a comprehensive, bipartisan package focused on ensuring local communities have the tools to address substance use disorder at the local level. Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) was the Republican lead on this bill.

Drug deaths nationwide hit a new record in 2022 as 109,680 people died from overdose. We can and must do more to end this crisis and expand access to treatment. The SUPPORT Act takes steps to address this epidemic by expanding access to treatment and recovery programs, making overdose reversal agents more available, investing in our mental health and substance use disorder workforce, and more. 

“Substance use disorder doesn’t care about your political party or where you live – neither should our approach to addressing this crisis,” said Congresswoman Kuster. “It is long past time for Congress to reauthorize these critical programs for addressing addiction. I am pleased that the House voted overwhelmingly to reauthorize the SUPPORT Act and ensure communities nationwide have the tools to address substance use disorder at the local level. Tackling the overdose crisis requires an all-of-the-above approach, and I hope this legislation can serve as a building block to strengthen our national response to this crisis and help save lives.”

As the founder and co-chair of the Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force, which originally began in 2015, Kuster has played a leading role in strengthening Congress’ response to the mental health and opioid epidemics. The SUPPORT Act advances this important work and includes provisions to:

• Expand access to treatment and recovery programs, community-based supports, and overdose reversal agents;
• Monitor infections associated with drug use, prescription drug diversion, laboratory detection tools, reporting on trauma, and remote monitoring tools;
• Invest in the mental health and substance use disorder workforce; 
• Support recovery community organizations, peer-run recovery support, comprehensive opioid recovery centers, medication-assisted treatment, as well as treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women, training for first responders, and persons who experience violence-related stress;
• Support research and response to the growing dangers of fentanyl and xylazine; 
• Dedicate resources to key public health programs to respond to the crisis; and
• Reauthorize the SUPPORT Act of 2018, which Kuster helped pass into law.

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