Luján Applauds Senate Passage of Major Bipartisan Bill to Address Fentanyl Crisis

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) applauded the unanimous Senate passage of legislation to reauthorize the SUPPORT Act – a landmark federal investment to combat the fentanyl crisis through addiction prevention, treatment, recovery, and law enforcement efforts. The bipartisan package of fentanyl prevention bills, led by U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), now heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law.

Originally enacted in 2018, the SUPPORT Act represents the foundation of the federal response to the opioid epidemic and fentanyl crisis. Its reauthorization builds on years of progress reducing overdose deaths and strengthening community responses to addiction.

“Families in New Mexico have felt the devastating toll of the fentanyl crisis. This bipartisan legislation will deliver critical support for first responders, health care workers, and community organizations on the frontlines of this fight,” said Senator Luján. “It will also expand access to treatment and recovery services, provide life-saving tools to first responders, and provide more resources to keep people in recovery connected to jobs and support. Let’s get this signed into law.”

As a then-member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Senator Luján raised this legislation as an early priority in the last Congress. Senator Luján secured the following provisions:

• The Pregnant and Postpartum Women (PPW) Treatment Reauthorization Act to reauthorize residential treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women who have a substance use disorder;
• The Strengthening Communities of Recovery Act to supports peer support services by reauthorizing grant programs that allow organizations to develop and enhance peer recovery and general recovery support while fostering collaboration with other harm reduction entities;
• The Improving Access to Addiction Medicine Providers Act to amend the Public Health Service Act to expand the Minority Fellowship Program (MFP), allowing fellowships to be awarded for training professionals in the addiction medicine field;
• The Peer Support Services Center of Excellence Act to support individuals in recovery through proven recovery support systems. 

The SUPPORT Act represents the foundation of the federal response to the fentanyl crisis, and its reauthorization includes:

• Increased training and resources for first responders and other essential community members on how to use life-saving overdose reversal drugs, like naloxone and how to connect people to treatment;
• Significant funding for training and recruitment for health care workers who want to work in mental health, addiction medicine, and related fields, including measures to expand student loan repayment for health care workers who focus on addiction medicine and recovery in underserved areas;
• Funding to provide residential treatment for pregnant and postpartum women who need addiction treatment;
• Expansion of access to fentanyl and xylazine test strips, a critical tool to help lower overdose deaths;
• Funding for community organizations that help people stay in recovery over the long term, as well as those that help connect people in recovery to jobs.

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