Rep. Bucshon Applauds President Trump’s Action to Declare Opioid Crisis National Public Health Emergency

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 -- Rep. Larry Bucshon, R-Ind., has issued the following statement after attending President Trump's announcement at the White House declaring the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency:

"Each day more than 90 Americans die from overdosing on opioids, and in 2016, more than 64,000 Americans died to due to drug overdoses. The number of deaths is simply staggering when you consider that more people died in 2016 from an opioid overdose than died in a car accident last year, or from AIDS at the height of the AIDS crisis in 1995. Hoosiers have been hit particularly hard by the epidemic, as Indiana is one of four states where the overdose rate has more than quadrupled since 1999," said Dr. Bucshon. "Opioid addiction does not discriminate based on income, race, gender, geography, or age. Failure to stop opioid addiction and overdose deaths will allow this epidemic to continue destroying our families and communities and we cannot allow this to happen. Today I was honored to join President Trump and others at the White House for the President's announcement declaring the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency. President Trump's declaration builds on the actions already taken by Congress, and will help to better enable all levels of government - from the federal government down to local government - fight this epidemic and begin to turn the tide.

"Congress has already taken significant action to fight the opioid crisis. In 2016, Congress passed the Comprehensive Recovery and Addiction Act (CARA), which is the most significant federal addiction legislation signed into law in decades, and the 21st Century Cures Act, which included $1 billion in funding to fight the opioid crisis. In May of this year, Congress provided an additional $650 million to combat the opioid crisis as part of a larger government funding bill.

"Dr. Bucshon was deeply involved in crafting and passing CARA, authoring an integral portion of the law which expanded access to medication-assisted opioid addiction treatment, ensured patients have access to a wider range of comprehensive, evidence-based treatment options, and minimized the potential for drug diversion. His work on the legislation was recognized by the Coalition to Stop Opioid Overdose. In an effort to see that progress through, Bucshon led a bipartisan letter to then-HHS Secretary Tom Price, M.D. urging full implementation of CARA, specifically the addition treatment portions of the law."