Washington, D.C. – Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) released the following statement after passage of H.R. 6, the “Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act.”

“The impacts of the opioid crisis reach every community across the nation, and today Congress took major action to fight back. Eight committees in the House, including the Ways and Means Committee, put forward bipartisan proposals to help the families and communities we represent. In particular, H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, puts in place many common-sense measures to reduce the unnecessary prescription of opioids and to assist those who’ve become addicted.

“Over the last two weeks, the House has passed over 70 pieces of bipartisan legislation that will improve addiction treatment, encourage pain management alternatives, enhance prescription monitoring programs, and crack down on foreign shipments of illicit drugs. Every one of our 40 members on the Ways and Means Committee had a hand in the proposals that we are sending to the Senate. I applaud them for their commitment to combating this crisis. While we still have a long way to go, this legislation makes meaningful strides to help millions of Americans and starts the recovery from this terrible epidemic.”

NOTE: H.R. 6 will serve as the underlying vehicle for the majority of House-passed bills to combat the opioid crisis as this legislation moves to the Senate.