{"id":282,"date":"2018-12-26T21:40:42","date_gmt":"2018-12-26T21:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stories.usatodaynetwork.com\/stateofemergency\/?page_id=282"},"modified":"2018-12-28T18:58:29","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T18:58:29","slug":"congress","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/stories.usatodaynetwork.com\/stateofemergency\/congress\/","title":{"rendered":"The Crisis and Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In Congress, bipartisan effort seeks to address opioid crisis<\/h1>\n <\/div>\n
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By Jenny Wagner | jwagner@couriertimes.com<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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In October, President Donald Trump signed into law a sweeping package of bills known as the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act that sought to address various aspects of the opioid crisis.<\/p>\n

More than half of the bills were written and supported by members of the Bipartisan Heroin and Opioids Task Force, including Republican co-chair Congressman Tom MacArthur, and Republican vice chair Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, and several were priorities on the legislative agenda.<\/p>\n

Among other things, the bills addressed treatment, prevention, law enforcement and the influx of synthetic opioids like fentanyl coming into the country. Including appropriations approved earlier in the year, more than $7 billion is going toward efforts.<\/p>\n

Getting the package of 50 bills passed was “pretty heavy lifting,” MacArthur, of Toms River, said.<\/p>\n

The biggest hurdles were in working with the various parts of the executive branch and different committees in Congress, all dealing separately with efforts related to the opioid crisis. But MacArthur said just having the task force has helped those efforts over the last few years by bringing them all together.<\/p>\n

“There was no one entity within Congress that was trying to coordinate all that and drive legislation, and that’s what this task force was formed to do,” he said.<\/p>\n

Bipartisanship made it possible, MacArthur and Fitzpatrick agreed.<\/p> \t<\/div>\n <\/div>

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(File Photo) New Jersey Congressman Tom MacArthur, center, hosted a roundtable on the opioid crisis with members of local law enforcement, including Evesham Chief of Police Christopher Chew and nonprofit leader Suzanne Harrison, of King's Crusade, in Evesham in August. [Kelly Kultys | Staff Photojournalist]<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div><\/div>
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When they took on their leadership roles along with Democratic co-chair Congresswoman Ann McLane Kuster of Maine, and Democratic vice-chair Congressman Donald Norcross of Camden, they all decided they would have to agree on any bills placed on the legislative agenda, and that the task force would not consider any bills that did not have bipartisan support.<\/p>\n

“We didn’t want to get lost in the areas where we didn’t agree,” MacArthur said. “We didn’t want those things to make us unable to get things done.”<\/p>\n

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We\u2019ll never be able to say we\u2019ve made enough progress when we\u2019re losing tens of thousands of people every year to overdose and when hundreds of thousands, millions even, are getting addicted still.<\/h1>\n

Congressman Tom MacArthur<\/p>\n

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MacArthur, who lost a re-election bid in November to Democrat Andy Kim, of Bordentown Township, said he hopes the bipartisanship will continue after his time in Congress ends. Much of his work in Washington and back in the 3rd District focused on the opioid crisis because, “I believe it is the No. 1 domestic crisis facing our country,” he said, noting the economic toll, the stress on the criminal justice and health care systems, and the devastation to families and communities.<\/p>\n

“I care very deeply about the people who have been afflicted and I just hope the new Congress doesn’t lose the emphasis,” MacArthur said. “It’s really critical that we get things done that actually help people.”<\/p>\n

Fitzpatrick, a former FBI agent, said that’s going to require addressing things all at once, similar to an FBI investigation.<\/p>\n

“Any time you have a complex problem there are a lot of different pressure points, and you’ve got to identify all of them and proceed on all of them simultaneously,” he said.<\/p>\n

That includes the law enforcement components, the physician and pharmaceutical components, as well as increasing treatment options and prevention programs.<\/p>\n

“It’s also important that we get into the schools early and we educate these kids before they go down that path, to save our next generation,” Fitzpatrick said.<\/p>\n

In addition to prevention, Fitzpatrick’s priorities going forward include addressing the other issues that accompany the opioid crisis and affect people with opioid addiction, like mental health and other medical conditions and economic barriers.<\/p>\n

“It addresses a broader swath of the problem,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s a very broad look at how we get out in front of this. And it demonstrates the web and interconnectivity, and they all need to be addressed.”<\/p> \t<\/div>\n <\/div>

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(File Photo) Pennsylvania Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, left, and Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, listen to Sherri Morett of Pennsbury School District speak about efforts to make children aware of the harmful effects of drugs, during a roundtable discussion on combating the opioid epidemic on June 29, 2018, in Newtown Township. [Kim Weimer | Staff Photojournalist]<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div><\/div>
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Congressman-elect Kim said he also plans to draw from his previous experience as a national security advisor in the Obama administration. He sees many similarities between the opioid crisis and what he used to see in the situation room.<\/p>\n

“We see just a loss of life and a level of catastrophe in our country that are beyond the magnitude of anything else,” he said.<\/p>\n

That means approaching it “with that same level of strategy, attention and resources as we do with war and conflict and terrorism,” he said, including teams of experts and a comprehensive approach that is supported by resources.<\/p>\n

At the top of MacArthur’s priorities would be a major change to treatment — from 28-day stays to six- to 12-month intense programs — “where people have a real shot the first time without relapsing over and over,” he said.<\/p>\n

“That’s going to cost money and that’s going to require changing federal policy and insurance companies thinking differently about the type of treatment that’s authorized,” MacArthur continued. “Those who are paying the bills are reluctant, understandably. To pay for six months of treatment is pretty daunting. … The problem is people are relapsing six and eight and 10 and 15 times. And the cost of that — first of all the human toll is terrible — but the financial cost is worse than if you just did it right the first time.”<\/p>\n

When asked if enough progress has been made so far, MacArthur, Kim and Fitzpatrick agreed.<\/p>\n

“We’ll never be able to say we’ve made enough progress when we’re losing tens of thousands of people every year to overdose and when hundreds of thousands, millions even, are getting addicted still,” MacArthur said.<\/p> \t<\/div>\n <\/div>

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(File Photo) Democratic congressional candidate, Andy Kim, (left), of Evesham, on Monday, Sept. 24, 2018, conducts a town hall meeting at the Gibson House in Evesham. [Nancy Rokos | Staff Photojournalist]<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div><\/div>
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In Congress, bipartisan effort seeks to address opioid crisis By Jenny Wagner | jwagner@couriertimes.com In October, President Donald Trump signed into law a sweeping package of bills known as the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act that sought to address various aspects of the opioid crisis. 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