Congresswoman Corrine Brown Votes for Legislation to Address the Opioid Epidemic

Press Release

Congresswoman Corrine Brown said that she was pleased to vote for a package of bipartisan initiatives that are designed to address the opioid epidemic, but is very concerned the package does not contain any funding to implement these initiatives.

"Every day, 78 Americans die due to an opioid overdose," Congresswoman Brown said. "This is a national epidemic, and I am pleased that the House passed a package of bipartisan initiatives that are designed to address the crisis."

"However, the package of bills passed last week are only authorizations, and they do not contain any new funding for these initiatives. I will fight for adding new funding resources to address opioid addiction in the House-Senate conference committee."

Some of the bipartisan initiatives include:

- Creating a Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction grant program, that would fund prevention, treatment, and recovery services to address opioid addiction.

- Cutting the risk of opioid addiction among veterans managing chronic pain.

- Improving the treatment and care of babies who are born addicted to opioids.

- Creating a grant program to help states increase access to naloxone, a lifesaving opioid overdose reversal drug.

- Providing information and resources to youth athletes and their families about the dangers of opioid use and abuse.
"I am pleased that we have taken a first step in addressing the terrible opioid crisis that is affecting tens of thousands of families across this country," the Congresswoman said. "However, this is only a first step and there is much more that Congress must do. Over the next few weeks, I will fight hard to add real new funding resources to this authorization package, because it is only with this funding that we will actually begin to make a difference, save lives, and end the opioid addiction crisis."

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