Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02), the co-chair of the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic, along with Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), has led a letter to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, urging the inclusion of desperately needed funding in the 21st Century Cures legislation to support those on the frontlines of the opioid crisis. 21^st Century Cures will provide funding for the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and offers a unique opportunity to provide resources to address the opioid epidemic.

“Today, 78 people will die of a heroin or opioid overdose,” wrote the Members. “This epidemic rages on across the United States, and local law enforcement and public health agencies are overwhelmed by need.  It is our responsibility to provide them with the resources they desperately require to save lives and repair their communities. We continue to hear from leaders in law enforcement and in addiction recovery who say they are unable to provide assistance to needy residents because they lack the funds.”

The letters continues, “It is crucial that we treat the opioid epidemic like the emergency that it is, and ensure that those responding to the crisis have the resources they need now. We cannot sit idly by any longer as family after family is torn apart by an unnecessary tragedy while skilled officials are standing at the ready to intervene.”

The letter was signed by 23 members of Congress.

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. 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.

The full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Speaker Ryan and Majority Leader McConnell,

Today, 78 people will die of a heroin or opioid overdose. This epidemic rages on across the United States, and local law enforcement and public health agencies are overwhelmed by need.  It is our responsibility to provide them with the resources they desperately require to save lives and repair their communities. We continue to hear from leaders in law enforcement and in addiction recovery who say they are unable to provide assistance to needy residents because they lack the funds.

As you complete work on the 21^st Century Cures legislation, we write to encourage you to include immediate funding to combat heroin and opioid addiction and overdose in this package. Knowing that Cures will likely be one of the final pieces of legislation that Congress acts on this year, we hope you will consider this a final opportunity to take needed action to combat this crisis.

As you know, this spring, both chambers passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 by an overwhelming bipartisan majority, and while it authorizes important efforts to improve treatment for addiction and respond to the crisis, it lacks any funding to support these programs. During conference discussions for CARA, representations were made from the Majority chairs in both chambers that funds would be appropriated in FY2017. H.R. 4447, which has 40 House cosponsors, provides a solid framework for these necessary resources. We continue to fervently support appropriating additional emergency funds to aid this effort and support the goals of CARA.

It is crucial that we treat the opioid epidemic like the emergency that it is, and ensure that those responding to the crisis have the resources they need now. We cannot sit idly by any longer as family after family is torn apart by an unnecessary tragedy while skilled officials are standing at the ready to intervene. We have the ability and obligation to provide them with the resources they need.  Please take this opportunity to provide immediate funding to combat the opioid addiction and overdose crisis that continues to devastate American communities.

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