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WASHINGTON, May 12, 2016 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today released the following statement on H.R. 4641, H.R. 5046, and related bills considered today by the House of Representatives:
"Opioid misuse is an epidemic, and it requires serious action backed by adequate funding. We lost 28,647 people to opioid-related overdose deaths in 2014. This issue affects far too many Americans on a very personal level; forty-four percent of Americans say they personally know someone who has been addicted to prescription painkillers. While I am encouraged to see Congress recognize the severity of this crisis, bills like those considered and passed in the House today do little to address the issue. We have an immediate need for treatment, especially in rural areas. Our first priority should be to adequately fund those services and ensure all Americans have access. The President has submitted a budget to Congress to provide $1.1 billion in new funding to ensure opioid use disorder treatment is available for those who seek it. In my role as part of an interagency effort on heroin and prescription opioids, I have been traveling around the country meeting with local and state officials, medical professionals, law enforcement, and individuals and families whose lives, like my own, have been impacted by addiction. Turning the tide of this epidemic will require action at multiple levels, but the first step is for Congress to provide the necessary funding."
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