This week, Rep. Annie Kuster (NH-02) successfully secured the inclusion of $10 billion in funding toward the opioid epidemic over the next five years in H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which the House will be voting on today. The funding comes from Kuster's bipartisan legislation, the RESPOND Now Act, which she introduced in May with Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), who serves as co-chair alongside Kuster on the Bipartisan Opioid Task Force.

“We’ve made progress in our efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, but we still have a lot of work to do to curb this ongoing crisis,” said Kuster.  “This funding will help ensure states, cities, towns, and communities that are on the frontlines have the resources and support they need to help people who are struggling with or impacted by addiction, including more vulnerable populations like children. I’m thrilled these funds will be included in this critical legislation named after my late dear friend, Representative Elijah Cummings, and I look forward to voting in favor of this measure today.”

The Bipartisan Opioid Task Force has been a driver of Congressional action to take on the opioid epidemic. The Task Force successfully pushed for the inclusion of $1 billion in funding as part of the 21st Century Cures Act to address the opioid epidemic and helped pass 14 bills which were signed into law as part of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA). Several pieces of the Task Force’s legislative agenda for 2018 have been signed into law including the VA Prescription Data Accountability Act and the INTERDICT Act; other provisions of the agenda were included in bipartisan comprehensive opioid legislation, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (H.R. 6), which was signed into law.

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