Press Releases

 This afternoon, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) led a letter to the House Appropriations Committee requesting funding for programs to help New Hampshire and other affected states fight the heroin epidemic. In particular, her letter requests funding for the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), which is designed to address prescription opioid misuse and heroin addiction from multiple angles, including prevention and recovery. CARA, which was cosponsored by Senators Shaheen and Ayotte, recently passed the Senate but Congress must still act to fund the legislation.

“In light of the growing challenges posed by the opioid epidemic across the country,” Kuster’s letter reads, “we write to express our strong support for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 funding of programs that would support the comprehensive and integrated strategies for addressing opioid abuse. We must act this year to ensure that our law enforcement officials, care givers, mental health experts, and others have the resources necessary to address this crisis in a comprehensive way.”

In addition to requesting funding for CARA, the letter askes the Appropriations Committee to provide funding for a number of other crucial initiatives, including the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program, drug-free community grants, drug court grants, alternative treatment grants, and the National Health Service Corps.

Congresswoman Kuster was joined by 58 of her House colleagues in sending the letter, including Representative Frank Guinta, with whom she cofounded a Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic. The text of the letter can be found here and below:

Dear Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Lowey:

As you know, heroin use and prescription opioid abuse are having devastating effects on public health and safety in communities across our country.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drug overdoses now surpass automobile accidents as the leading cause of injury-related death for Americans ages 25 to 64.  Every day, more than 129 Americans die as a result of drug overdose – and over half of these drug overdoses are related to prescription drug use.  Though research conducted at the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) and other organizations show addiction to be a treatable disease of the brain, only about ten percent of those who need treatment actually receive it.

In light of the growing challenges posed by the opioid epidemic across the country, we write to express our strong support for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 funding of programs that would support the comprehensive and integrated strategies for addressing opioid abuse.  We must act this year to ensure that our law enforcement officials, care givers, mental health experts, and others have the resources necessary to address this crisis in a comprehensive way.

A critical element in addressing this crisis is funding for vital provisions included in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 (H.R.953/S.524).  This bipartisan legislation was developed over the past two and a half years through a cooperative process involving key national stakeholders in the public health, law enforcement, criminal justice, and drug policy fields, and is designed to fight prescription opioid abuse and heroin use holistically – from expanding prevention to supporting recovery.

Among other objectives, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) would:

• Expand prevention and educational efforts-particularly aimed at teens, parents and other caretakers, and aging populations-to prevent prescription opioid abuse and the use of heroin.
• Expand the availability of the overdose reversal drug naloxone to law enforcement agencies and other first responders.
• Expand resources to promptly identify and treat individuals suffering from substance use disorders in the criminal justice system.
• Expand disposal sites for unwanted prescription medications to keep them out of the hands of children and adolescents.
• Launch an evidence-based prescription opioid and heroin treatment and intervention program to expand best practices throughout the country.
• Launch a medication assisted treatment and intervention demonstration program.
• Strengthen prescription drug monitoring programs to help states monitor and track prescription drug diversion and to help at-risk individuals access services.

In addition to the provisions in CARA, we ask that you provide robust funding to several other areas that will aid in prevention, treatment, and recovery. These include High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, drug free community grants, drug court grants, alternative treatment grants, and the National Health Service Corps.

We must provide the resources and incentives necessary for states and local governments to expand treatment, prevention, and recovery efforts for the millions of Americans who are affected by substance use disorders. 

Only through a comprehensive approach that leverages evidence-based law enforcement initiatives, treatment, and support for recovery can we reverse the devastating impact this crisis is having in our communities.

Thank you for your consideration.

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