House Adopts Bishop Amendment to Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act
Press Release
During today's floor debate on H.R. 5046, the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act, Congressman Mike Bishop (MI-08) -- a co-sponsor of the bill -- offered an amendment to strengthen the effort to keep opioids prescribed to others out of the hands of children. The amendment passed the House unanimously.
"I've spoken with families and local law enforcement about the growing opioid epidemic in our community, and one of the major issues is making sure these dangerous drugs do not get into the hands of our children," said Rep. Bishop. "I'm a father of three, and it worries me that nearly 800,000 kids between the ages of 12 and 17 tried opioids for the first time within the past year. My amendment allows state and local governments to invest in programs that utilize secure containers for prescription drugs -- leaving it up to each state to decide what works best for them. Drug and opioid use has had a devastating impact on our families, but legislation like this will help address the problem at one of its roots: the home."
The amendment includes:
"Developing, implementing, or expanding a program (which may include demonstration projects) to utilize technology that provides a secure container for prescription drugs that would prevent individuals, particularly adolescents, from gaining access to opioid medications that are lawfully prescribed for other individuals.''
"The Comprehensive Opioid Abuse and Reduction Act represents government at its best," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, following the House passage of H.R. 5046. "Not only does this bipartisan bill provide necessary resources to state and local governments to help prosecute opioid drug traffickers and help prevent and treat opioid addiction, it also saves taxpayers' dollars by streamlining the grant program to eliminate government waste and red tape. I thank Crime Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner and Congressman Bishop for their work to end our nation's opioid epidemic and look forward to working with the Senate to send this bill to the President's desk."
In 2014, drug poisoning deaths became the number one cause of injury related-death in Michigan. Visit the following links for text to Rep. Bishop's amendment and learn more about the legislation the House is voting on this week to address America's opioid epidemic.
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