House overwhelmingly passes Walden opioid bill
The House of Representatives on Friday overwhelmingly passed H.R. 6, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act, authored by Rep. Greg Walden , R-Ore.
H.R. 6 passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 396-14.
The bipartisan bill will help efforts to advance treatment and recovery initiatives, improve prevention, protect our communities, and bolster our efforts to fight deadly illicit synthetic drugs like fentanyl. For a full list of all the measures included in H.R. 6, click HERE.
“These past two weeks, the people’s House has dedicated tremendous amounts of time and energy to send a simple message to the millions of Americas impacted by the opioid crisis: ‘Help is on the way,'” Walden said in a speech on the House floor.
“Not only are we passing legislation that will save lives, but we want to leave no doubt in the minds of those suffering from addiction that the United States House of Representatives — Republicans and Democrats alike — stand with them. For too long, embarrassment and stigma surrounded the disease of addiction. It’s time for that to change.”
As chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative Walden has been at the forefront of the Congressional response to the opioid crisis,” his office said in a news release.
Under Walden’s leadership, the Energy and Commerce Committee has advanced 57 bills to the House of Representatives aimed at addressing the opioid crisis through treatment and recovery, prevention, protecting communities, and fighting dangerous synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
Representative Walden has met with victims, families, treatment advocates, medical providers, and law enforcement officers on the front lines of the opioid crisis in Oregon. Walden said that input has informed his legislative work to put forth concrete solutions to help save lives and stem the tide of the opioid crisis.
During his speech Friday, Walden stressed the need to push forward in the fight against the opioid crisis for families and communities in Oregon and across the country.
“Today, we have an opportunity to continue our work in combating this crisis, an opportunity to save lives, and we cannot let it pass,” said Walden. “We owe it to our families, friends, communities, and our country to lift people out of addiction and, together, win this fight.”
To learn more about the House’s efforts to combat the opioid crisis, click HERE.
To learn more about Energy and Commerce’s comprehensive efforts to combat the opioid crisis, click HERE.
