Expanding Findings for Federal Opioid Research and Treatment Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3153, the EFFORT Act.

The opioid epidemic is one of the deadliest public health emergencies of our time, and it affects not just those addicted to opioids, but everyone around them as well.

The numbers describing this epidemic are truly staggering. According to the CDC, between 1999 and 2017, almost 400,000 Americans died from an opioid-related overdose. These statistics have worsened over time, with the CDC reporting that the number of Americans who died as the result of an opioid-involved overdose in 2017 was six times higher than the number who died in 1999.

My home State of Michigan has been hard-hit by this epidemic. Between 2016 and 2017, drug overdose deaths in Michigan increased by almost 14 percent, but it was not the only State suffering in this way.

In the same timeframe, 23 States, including Michigan, had a significant increase in the rate of deaths from a drug overdose.

It is long past time that we invest in significant resources in combating the opioid epidemic.

As chairwoman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee's Subcommittee on Research and Technology, I have seen firsthand the excellent work done by the National Science Foundation. Their previous work on addiction and opioids have resulted in critical insights into not only the psychological process of addiction, but the social impacts of addiction as well.

Despite the progress made by the National Science Foundation, there is no doubt that further work is essential to combat the opioid epidemic.

H.R. 3153 will take advantage of the NSF's strength in basic research across many disciplines, from neuroscience to social science, in collaboration with the expertise of the National Institutes of Health in public health.

The research authorized in this bill will allow us to develop a more focused and effective policy to address the opioid epidemic.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend my colleagues, Representative Wexton and Representative Baird, both of whom I have the privilege of working with on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, for their excellent leadership on this bipartisan bill, and I urge all of my colleagues to join us in passing it.

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