FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 13, 2016
CONTACT
Yasmine Evans (Edwards) - 202-225-8699
Edwards Statement on Passage of the House Amendment to S. 524, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards (MD-4) released the following statement after having voted in support of the House Amendment to S. 524, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) of 2016. The House version of CARA combines 18 anti-opioid bills that previously passed the House into a single House amendment to the Senate-passed bill. Today, the legislative package was passed in the House by a vote of 400-5.
“Shortly after coming to Congress, I met with parents from Maryland’s Fourth Congressional District that lost their daughter to a heroin overdose. Since that meeting, I have introduced legislation to address the growing heroin and opioid epidemic. Every day, 78 Americans die due to an opioid overdose. Sadly, many of these deaths are preventable. Opioid abuse is a public health emergency that is steadily on the rise and it is long past time the federal government plays a role in helping to address this severe public health crisis through both policy and funding, said Congresswoman Edwards.
“Passing S. 524 is a good step in addressing this crisis through policy provisions that require a strategy to fight this epidemic, yet we need to do more to assist this community, including providing funding to those on the front lines of this crisis. The House legislation authorizes support for treatment providers and law enforcement’s efforts to combat drug trafficking; however, it does not provide much-needed funding for these programs. I look forward to the House-Senate conference and improving this bill through providing necessary funding and working to include fatal and nonfatal drug overdose surveillance and reporting capabilities.”
Earlier this year, the Senate passed S. 524 on March 10, by a vote of 94-1. The House and Senate will convene a conference committee to reconcile the differences between their respective versions of the bill.
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