Concord Ledger

Washington, D.C. — On June 21, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02), founder and co-chair of the Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force, participated in an Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing titled “Responding to America’s Overdose Crisis: An Examination of Legislation to Build Upon the SUPPORT Act.” During the hearing, Kuster urged her colleagues to work across the aisle to combat the mental health and substance use disorder crisis. CDC data shows that 300 Americans die every day from drug overdoses. 

“Every life lost to overdose is a tragedy. CDC data shows that 300 Americans die every day from drug overdoses, and we know that the number of people suffering from mental health challenges is far higher than that,” said Kuster. “Substance use and mental health disorders don’t care about our politics, and neither should our approach to addressing this crisis. It’s critical that we expand access to treatment and recovery services, especially for those involved in the justice system. This crisis calls for an all-of-government approach to fight this epidemic, and that is what I will continue pushing for in Congress.”

Rep. Kuster helped lead passage of the bipartisan Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Act, which was signed into law in 2018 to address the opioid epidemic and build on prior legislation to address the growing substance use disorder and mental health crisis. Key provisions of the SUPPORT Act are set to expire in September and must be reauthorized by Congress.

Kuster has proposed several bipartisan bills to address the addiction crisis, which could be included in the SUPPORT Act reauthorization, including the Humane Correctional Health Care Act, the STOP Fentanyl Act, and the Studying Suboxone Act.

Original source can be found here.