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Opioids & Fentanyl / Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health

Knowing the devastating toll that opioids and other substance abuse has taken on so many individuals and families in East Tennessee and across the country, I welcomed the opportunity to join the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force. This Task Force is aimed at developing and supporting national policies to address addiction to any substance, and to recognize the interconnectedness of addiction and mental health.

In 2022, more than 109,000 people died of drug overdoses; roughly 75,000 of whom died from synthetic opioids — largely illicit fentanyl or fentanyl-related substances. Fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances can be 50-100 times more potent than morphine. Just a few milligrams — which can fit in the ear of Lincoln on a penny — can be lethal.Illicit fentanyl poisonings are now the number one cause of death among adults 18-49 — more than COVID-19, cancer, heart disease, and car accidents.

I have met and spoken with many medical professionals and law enforcement officers in East Tennessee and share their concerns that drug-related overdoses, especially those attributed to opioids and fentanyl, continue to surge.

As your representative, I remain active on all legislative fronts to combat our opioid, substance use disorder, and fentanyl crises, keep our communities safe, and address behavioral health issues:

  • In January 2023,I introduced the Block, Report, and Suspend Suspicious Shipments Act (H.R. 501), This bill would require all DEA registrants who receive suspicious and unusual orders of controlled substances not only report this behavior to the DEA, but also block order fulfillments and investigate the matter. This bill has advanced from the House Energy & Commerce Committee with broad bipartisan support, and now awaits full consideration by the U.S. House of Representatives.
  • I co-sponsored and voted for House passage of the HALT Fentanyl Act (H.R. 467), which would reschedule fentanyl-related substances under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, strengthening law enforcement authority to crack down on drug traffickers. The bill would also ensure practitioners can research fentanyl-related substances so we can better understand their overall effects on people's health.
  • I co-sponsored the Stop CCP Fentanyl Act (H.R. 1171), which would impose sanctions on Chinese Communists officials until the Chinese government curtails its illicit fentanyl trade to the United States.
  • I co-sponsored H.Res. 39, that expresses a sense of the House of Representatives that the President should classify synthetic, illicit fentanyl-related substances as weapons of Mass destruction.

I am also a cosponsor of and voted for committee adoption of the Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act, or the SUPPORT Act (H.R. 4531), legislation to increase prevention, treatment, and recovery opportunities to individuals suffering from substance use disorder (SUD) and opioid use disorder (OUD).

Click HERE to read more about my work to address substance use disorders and fatalities, and supporting behavioral health.

Issues:Health Care