Reichert, Ways and Means Pass Important Opioid Legislation

Press Release

Today, the House Ways and Means Committee approved seven opioid bills, including the Securing the International Mail Against Opioids Act of 2018 (H.R. 5788). This legislation will improve the detection of synthetic opioids that are transported through the international mail system and help prevent them from entering the United States.

Representative Dave Reichert (R-WA) led a Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade hearing on this legislation in late April where the Subcommittee heard from representatives of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Following successful Committee passage of this legislation, Rep. Reichert released the following statement:

"In Washington, there has been a 33% increase in opioid-related deaths over the past few years, which exceeds the growth in our state's population. We can and must do more to address the growing problem of our country's opioid epidemic," said Rep. Reichert.

"Today's Committee passage of these bills puts us on this path. As we heard in our hearing on this issue, opioids entering the U.S. through international mail is a serious problem that we must address, and we must do more to detect and stop these shipments. I am proud of the Committee's work on a bipartisan solution, the Securing the International Mail Against Opioids Act, and look forward to moving to consideration by the full House."

To see Rep. Reichert's remarks at the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee hearing on "The Opioid Crisis: Stopping the Flow of Synthetic Opioids in the International Mail System," CLICK HERE.

The Committee also approved the Combating Opioid Abuse for Care in Hospitals (COACH) Act (H.R. 5774), the Providing Reliable Options for Patients and Educational Resources (PROPER) Act (H.R. 5775), the Medicare and Opioid Safe Treatment (MOST) Act (H.R. 5776), the Preventing Addiction for Susceptible Seniors (PASS) Act (H.R. 5773), the Stop Excessive Narcotics in our Retirement (SENIOR) Communities Protection Act (H.R. 5676), and the Expanding Oversight of Opioid Prescribing and Payment Act (H.R. 5723).

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