**Kuster spoke on behalf of the SUPPORT Act in today’s Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing. Her full remarks are available here**

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) announced she is co-leading comprehensive, bipartisan legislation to respond to the addiction and overdose crisis. The Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization (SUPPORT) Act is a landmark bill to update Congress’s response to the complicated challenges of mental health and substance use disorder and empower communities to respond to this epidemic. Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Health Subcommittee Chair, is the Republican sponsor of this bill.

Full bill text is available here.

“Addiction and mental health touch every community in our nation — and every life lost to this epidemic is a tragedy. While we have taken great strides to expand access to treatment and recovery resources, these twin epidemics continue to take lives across the country,” said Kuster, founder and co-chair of the Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force. “That’s why the SUPPORT Act is so important — this comprehensive package brings together Members from both sides of the aisle to respond to the complicated challenges of mental health and substance use disorder with a united front. I want to thank Chairman Guthrie for his partnership and encourage my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill.”

The Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization (SUPPORT) Act would:

• Expand access to treatment and recovery programs, community-based supports, and overdose reversal agents;
• Direct resources to 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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