December 20, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 20, 2022 

Contact: Sasha Galbreath, Sasha.Galbreath@mail.house.gov 

Congressman David Trone, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force, Releases Statement on the Omnibus

Congressman David Trone, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force, released the following statement in response to HR. 7666, the Mental Health and Well-Being Act, being included in the one-year omnibus funding deal. The Task Force led over half of the bills included in the package; Rep. Trone led or co-led eight of the bills included.

“The Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act – a package of over 30 bills to address the mental health and addiction crises – is driven by bipartisanship. It is driven by investments and data-driven programs that will actually reduce the deficit by $200 million over 10 years. It is driven by the many seats around American families’ tables left empty from these crises – mine included.

“I will proudly vote to pass this measure through the omnibus and send it to President Biden to become law. This is a huge accomplishment for the many organizations that fought in the trenches with us, but, most importantly, this effort will soon provide a much-needed helping hand for those suffering from these diseases – those in the shadows of life.

“We’re making hard-fought progress on this issue, but the work isn’t over. Next Congress, I will continue to fight tooth and nail to help end these epidemics. With millions of lives on the line, we can’t afford to wait.”

Congressman Trone led or co-led the following bills now included in the omnibus funding bill:

• H.R.1385, Behavioral Health Coordination and Communication Act, will create an Interagency Coordinator to address the currently disjointed federal efforts and foster constant communication among all relevant agencies and departments in order to focus the federal government’s approach to mental health and substance use disorders. 
• H.R.2376, Excellence in Recovery Housing Act, will develop new guidelines for best practices for recovery housing, provide grants to states to implement those guidelines, create an interagency working group to coordinate the government’s work on recovery housing, and commission a study to review the availability and quality of recovery housing. 
• H.R.2379, State Opioid Response Grant Authorization Act of 2021, will authorize $1.75 billion annually for five years, for a total of $8.75 billion, to fund programs and resources for states and tribes for prevention, harm reduction (naloxone distribution), treatment (residential and outpatient), and recovery (housing and peer support groups)
• Elements of H.R.4244, STOP Stigma Act, will require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue guidance for renaming the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and other agencies and programs with names that contain stigmatizing terms such as abuse, addict, or alcoholic.
• H.R.6636, Due Process Continuity of Care Act, will amend the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy (MIEP) to allow for Medicaid coverage of health care services for juvenile pre-trial detainees.
• Co-led: H.R.7483, Cost of Mental Illness Act of 2022, will direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study on the direct and indirect costs of serious mental illness for nongovernmental entities, the Federal Government, and State, local, and Tribal governments, and for other purposes.
• Co-led: H.R. 2067, Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act, would implement a one-time, 8-hour training on identifying, treating, and managing patients with substance use disorders for all controlled medication prescribers.
• Co-led: H.R. 6279, Opioid Treatment Access Act, would modernize and improves the process of obtaining methadone to treat opioid use disorder, allowing pharmacies to dispense methadone so that patients can receive methadone at more convenient locations.

According to NIDA, “every dollar invested in addiction treatment programs yields a return of between $4 and $7 in reduced drug-related crime, criminal justice costs, and theft. When savings related to healthcare are included, total savings can exceed costs by a ratio of 12 to 1. Major savings to the individual and to society also stem from fewer interpersonal conflicts; greater workplace productivity; and fewer drug-related accidents, including overdoses and deaths.”

Congressman David Trone represents Maryland’s Sixth District in Congress and serves as the Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force. Recently, he served as the Co-Chair of the U.S. Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking alongside Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR). In 2016, he lost his nephew, Ian, to a fentanyl overdose and has been fighting to end the opioid epidemic ever since.