A key House committee advanced an opioid prevention bill Wednesday that has come under fire by senators as a “weaker” alternative to their version.
The House Ways and Means Committee advanced four legislative packages and three standalone bills. Among them, the measure that has come under fire is the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act, or STOP Act, which would require the U.S. Postal Service to scan incoming packages from overseas for opioids.
Senators argue the House version isn’t strong enough because it doesn’t carry any penalties if the Postal Service doesn’t comply. It also would give the agency up to 2022 to full implement the changes, while the Senate requires them within a year. The House provides a waiver if other agencies determine that there is a national security interest” to do so.
The bill’s Senate authors, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., blasted the House committee in a statement following the vote, saying the House bill would “perpetuate the status quo rather than help solve the opioid crisis.”
“We are concerned that this weaker alternative would eliminate the real, enforceable, and immediate requirement that the Postal Service provide law enforcement with the information they need to identify and stop the shipment of deadly synthetic drugs into our communities,” they said. “In particular, the STOP Act requires the Postal Service to secure advanced electronic data on 100 percent of the packages entering the United States and transmit that data to Customs and Border Protection.”
They noted that their bill has the support of the Trump administration and of the secretary of Homeland Security. They said Rep. Kevin Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, had heard their concerns and said he would work with them.
“Our work doesn’t end here. We know there is still a long way to go,” Brady, R-Texas, said at the beginning of the markup.
Other packages that advanced Wednesday included the Combatting Opioid Abuse for Care in Hospitals Act, which would help give patients better access to treatment for pain that is not addictive.
The Medicare and Opioid Safe Treatment Act directs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to compile education resources for beneficiaries, most of whom are seniors, regarding opioid use, pain management, and alternative pain management treatments, and include them in a handbook.
Most of the legislation received bipartisan support, though Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., lamented that the bills had not previously received a hearing.
“I think it’s important for us not just to show up at the graduation party but to do the course work,” he said.
Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., blasted Republicans for attempts to repeal parts of Obamacare, saying that the law had expanded access to substance abuse treatment, particularly through the Medicaid program that is funded by the government.
The legislative packages that advanced Wednesday are one of several efforts from Congress, which, with the Trump administration, has been working to find solutions to reverse overdose-related deaths and addiction that are tied to opioids such as heroin and prescription painkillers. Opioid-overdose deaths surpassed 42,000 in 2016.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee is holding a markup for its legislation on Thursday, while the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee advanced a bill in late April.
