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U.S. Sen. Capito secures West Virginia priorities in committee-passed addiction response legislation

Senate HELP Committee approves SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act with Capito provisions included

West Virginia Press Association

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) applauded the passage of the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee recently. The comprehensive, bipartisan legislation reauthorizes and adds programs designed to address the nation’s ongoing substance use disorder epidemic. Senator Capito was a cosponsor of the original legislation, which passed in 2018, and worked with her colleagues to ensure a number of key provisions she championed were continued in the bill’s reauthorization. 

“As far too many in West Virginia and across our nation experience the lasting and devastating consequences of addiction, we must continue to ensure the appropriate resources are available for individuals, families, and communities that are struggling with this epidemic,” Senator Capito said. “The SUPPORT Act provides needed relief by focusing on prevention, treatment and recovery, and addresses new challenges since the original bill was passed like increases of fentanyl overdoses and other emerging threats. I was proud to advocate on behalf of and ultimately secure provisions in this bill that are important to my state, and will continue to work with my colleagues to see this legislation become law.”

BACKGROUND:

As approved by the committee on December 12, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act includes provisions based on a number of bills Senator Capito has introduced, including:  

·        The Safe Response Act, which reauthorizes grants to train first responders on how to safely respond to a known or suspected drug overdose.

·        The Rise From Trauma Act, which reauthorizes resources to identify, prevent, and mitigate the effects of trauma related to the addiction epidemic among infants, children, and their families. This bill ensures the continuation of a task force to identify and disseminate trauma-informed best practices within federal grant programs; reauthorization of a grant program to link educational agencies with mental health systems to increase student access to evidence-based trauma support services; continued funding for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network; and continued support for state efforts to collect and report data on adverse childhood experiences.

·        The Pregnant and Postpartum Women Treatment Reauthorization Act, which reauthorizes residential treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women.

·        The Youth Prevention and Recovery Reauthorization Act, which reauthorizes a grant program to prevent, provide recovery support for, and treat substance use disorders in children, adolescents, and young adults.

In addition to the approval of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act, the HELP Committee also approved the bipartisan Screening for Communities to Receive Early and Equitable Needed Services (SCREENS) for Cancer Act. This important legislation, led by Senator Capito, would reauthorize the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP), a lifesaving program that provides breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services for women who are low-income, uninsured, and underinsured who do not qualify for Medicaid. Since 1991, NBCCEDP has served more than 6.2 million women, detecting nearly 78,000 breast cancers and over 24,500 premalignant breast lesions.

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