The House on Friday wrapped up a major package of legislation aimed on addressing the nation's opioid epidemic, which GOP leaders are calling one of their potentially biggest achievements in 2016, according to The Hill.
Legislators voted 400 to 5 on the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act on May 13. A version of the package passed the Senate in March, according to the report. The bill passed Friday is the 18th measure related to opioids approved last week, all of which were backed by bipartisan support. The legislation will now go ahead to a conference with the Senate package, and will likely be signed by President Barack Obama despite Democratic criticisms that the bill lacks sufficient funding, according to the report.
Many of the bills' authors are House Republicans from states struggling with drug addiction who are facing reelection this fall, according to The Hill.
The main conditions of the package include an interagency task force to recommend new guidelines for physicians regarding pain management and prescribing, as well as a new substance abuse program within the Department of Justice. The legislation also contains a measure to enhance the legal protections for "good Samaritans" who help administer overdose-reversal drugs.
The Obama administration has not said it would reject the bill, though it has pressured lawmakers for more funding.
"[W]hile we appreciate the attention Congress is paying to the issue, the legislation being voted on today in the House lacks the funding necessary to help every American with an opioid use disorder who wants treatment get the help they need," HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said in a statement last week.