A pair of Democrats implored Congress to treat the opioid crisis the same as the HIV/AIDS epidemic nearly 30 years ago, and are pushing new legislation to give states more power and funding.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said in an op-ed in USA Today Thursday that Congress should pass legislation that is similar to what was passed in 1990 that created the largest federally funded program for people struggling with HIV and AIDS. The lawmakers say the legislation is needed to fight an epidemic that has ravaged the country.
“America has addressed this kind of public health emergency before, and we call on Congress to do so now,” the lawmakers wrote. “Three decades ago, another epidemic that was highly stigmatized, greatly misunderstood and severely underestimated was spreading through our country and killing tens of thousands of otherwise healthy people each year. That epidemic was HIV/AIDS.”
The lawmakers said that crisis led to the creation of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resource Emergency Act that was named after a 13-year-old Indiana teenager who had AIDS.
The law sent funding directly to areas of the country that needed it the most and gave states and affected communities the ability to decide how dollars should be spent.
“The program they created provides vital services to more than half a million people ever year,” the op-ed said. “Although the HIV/AIDS epidemic is by no means over, life-saving medications are available, new infections have plummeted and science — rather than stigma — guides medical care.”
Both lawmakers called for Congress to “show the same political courage that our colleagues showed nearly 30 years ago.”
They intend to introduce legislation to establish a new system for funding and local decision-making to address the opioid epidemic, which federal data shows killed 64,000 Americans in 2016.
The legislation is similar to the Ryan White CARE Act.
Congress recently passed a spending bill that funds the government through the end of September and gives $3.3 billion to fighting opioid abuse. A majority of the money is likely to go towards expanding treatment options, lawmakers have said.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee is also working on more than 30 bills aimed at fighting the epidemic. Committee leaders hope to get the bills through the House by the Memorial Day recess.
