Expanding Findings for Federal Opioid Research and Treatment Act

Floor Speech

H.R. 3153, the Expanding Findings for Federal Opioid Research and Treatment, or EFFORT, Act identifies gaps that exist in research of the prevention and treatment of opioid addiction and authorizes the National Science Foundation to support research grants in these areas.

This legislation will help drive research to understand one of the most important issues facing our country: How do we stop the opioid addiction crisis?

Congress must do all we can to combat opioid abuse and the continuing increase in opioid-related deaths.

In 2017, more than 70,000 people died from drug overdoses, and approximately 68 percent of those deaths involved opioids. With my home State of Oklahoma being one of the leading States in opioid prescriptions, I believe supporting programs intended to improve our understanding of the science of addiction and combat this crisis is just common sense.

I thank Representative Jennifer Wexton and Representative Jim Baird for their bipartisan work on this bill. Opioid addiction affects too many in our communities, and I applaud this effort to support more basic research in the science of addiction.
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Mr. LUCAS. I have no additional speakers.

I rise again in support of H.R. 3153, the EFFORT Act.

Opioid addiction knows no economic or political boundaries. It affects all of us.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Representative Wexton and Representative Baird for their bipartisan leadership on this bill. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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