Opioid Crisis

Opioids

Opioids are a highly addictive class of drugs which range from illegal substances like heroin to prescription painkillers like morphine and oxycodone. The prescription versions of these drugs first became widespread in the late 1990s under the misguided premise that they were not addictive.

Communities throughout the United States have seen a significant rise in heroin and opioid use in recent years. In fact, deaths in Virginia from heroin and other opioids outnumbered highway fatalities for the first time in 2014, and in 2017 an average of 19 people overdosed per week in the Richmond area. These drugs have lasting impacts on families and local communities, and as a father and husband there is nothing I take more seriously than the health and safety of every American.

I have limited confidence in the ability of bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., to understand how to help our fellow Virginians most constructively. That is why I will continue to support policies that return power and autonomy to the states and local law enforcement. I have been working extensively with local sheriffs to understand their needs in responding to this crisis. I have also worked closely with community recovery organizations like the McShin Foundation. In fact, I recently introduced a bill (H.R. 5408) that directs 20% of federal block grants for prevention and treatment of substance abuse to peer recovery programs like the ones at McShin. I have also introduced H.R. 5679, the Jobs Plus Recovery Act.  This bill would establish a “Jobs Plus Recovery” pilot program that is a one-stop-shop for program participants in recovery from a substance use disorder.  The bill would also award grants to provide job training & placement, outpatient detox, and peer recovery supports at community-based job training sites.  It would also create a partnership between state workforce development boards and other local and community organizations to map out an individual treatment and employment plan for each program participant. 

We must empower our parents, teachers, and local leaders to do what is best for the needs of their communities. As your representative, I will keep your thoughts and concerns in mind as Congress continues to address this epidemic.

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Sponsored:

“One of the worst aspects of addiction is the alienation those struggling can feel from their friends, family and even their communities,” said Congressman Dave Brat. “One way many of us connect with our neighbors is through our jobs – we learn to serve our neighbor through running a small business, working to manufacture or sell goods and services, etc. To help Americans struggling with addiction get plugged back into the community, we are working across party lines to help everyone possible to enter or re-enter the workforce. That is a total win-win situation. This bill would help that process.”

The Jobs Plus Recovery Act would allow programs that are funded through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act – a bill passed in 2014 that provides job training assistance to individuals with a barrier to employment – to provide targeted-support services to individuals with substance-use disorders. It would also consider their needs as part of state and local strategic planning processes to tackle the opioid epidemic. Moreover, the bill allows community workforce programs to educate employers about how to hire and retain employees with a history of substance-use disorders.

The program would be divided between three stages:

• pre-employment,
• early employment, and
• continuing employment.

This pilot program would be the first to integrate job-skills training with addiction treatment and recovery.

More Information:

• Full text of H.R. 5679, the Jobs Plus Recovery Act, is available here.
• A companion bill in the U.S. Senate was introduced on April 10, 2018 by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Todd Young (R-IN) and Doug Jones (D-AL).

H.R. 5889 – Recognizing Early Childhood Trauma Related to Substance Abuse Act of 2018

Introduced 5/21/18; PASSED 6/13/18

-          Helps children in families battling addiction by getting vital information to caregivers that work with those children

-          Promotes whole-family and multi-generational approaches

-          Helps curb long-term effects of substance abuse

H.R. 5408 – To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for prevention and treatment of substance abuse grants to recovery community organizations, and for other purposes.

Introduced 3/23/18

-          Provides grants to fund recovery community organizations and for other purposes