Portman Praises President Trump's Decision to Declare America's Opioid Epidemic a National Emergency

Press Release

After visiting the Groups treatment facility which provides affordable, evidence-based outpatient treatment for opiate addiction in Chillicothe today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) issued the following statement in response to President Trump announcing his decision to declare a national emergency on opioid abuse today:

"There is no doubt that this heroin and prescription drug epidemic is a crisis affecting our entire country, and I applaud the president for his decision to declare it a national emergency. While Congress has made some progress in addressing this crisis by passing the Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act and the 21st Century CURES Act, we can and should do more. We must continue to fully fund important programs on prevention, treatment, and recovery, and we must take additional legislative action to help stop overprescribing, increase the number of treatment beds covered by Medicaid at residential treatment facilities, and help stop the flow of synthetic opioids that are shipped into this country through the postal service. I was pleased the Trump Administration again endorsed the STOP Act in its interim opioid report last week, and I would urge the Senate to act on this bipartisan legislation soon."

NOTE: Portman visited the Groups treatment facility in Chillicothe earlier today. Groups is a national network of clinics providing affordable, evidence-based outpatient treatment for opiate addiction. Portman toured the treatment center and met with Ohioans currently in recovery to discuss the heroin and prescription drug epidemic.

Portman is the author of the bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act (CARA) that was signed-into-law last year, and he has helped lead the national effort to combat this epidemic that is devastating communities across Ohio and our country. Portman was also instrumental in securing $1 billion in new funding for state grants to fight opioid abuse in the 21st Century Cures initiative. Portman is currently working to get his bipartisan Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act, legislation designed to help stop dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil from being shipped through our borders to drug traffickers here in the United States, as well as his Prescription Drug Monitoring Act, which would help address the overprescribing of opiates.

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