Pallone Champions Bipartisan Legislation to Address Opioid Epidemic at Treatment Center in Marlboro

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 22, 2016

Calls for Real Dollars to Combat Epidemic

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) visited New hope Treatment in Marlboro to discuss legislation to combat the opioid epidemic. Pallone, who led democratic efforts to pass the bill, toured the facility and discussed how provisions in the conference report that recently passed the House of Representatives and Senate will assist addiction treatment centers. The legislation includes important and proven programs to address prevention, treatment and recovery.

In New Jersey, more than 184,000 individuals have been admitted to substance abuse treatment facilities for heroin or opioid abuse since 2010 and more than 5,000 have died from heroin-related deaths since 2004.

“We have a responsibility to the individuals, families, and communities that are being shattered by opioid addiction to do everything within our power to combat the current crisis,” said Pallone. “While I would have liked to see more in terms of a real investment in our public health infrastructure to deal with the complexity of addiction, and in addiction treatment centers like New Hope, I believe that this opioid package takes us several steps forward.”

While the legislation is an important first step, the Congressman also called for funding to fight the epidemic and empowering states with the resources to provide adequate treatment. He has introduced legislation that would commit $500 million annually to help individuals at all stages of crisis, specifically those suffering from prescription opioid and heroin dependence.

New Hope is a treatment center that serves those impacted by substance abuse, providing a range of counseling and clinical services across seven residential, transitional and outpatient facilities throughout Central New Jersey.

Among the services available at the facility, New Hope provides medication-assisted treatment. Throughout debate on the legislation, Pallone advocated for an expansion in access to this evidence based strategy to combat addiction and the final legislation allows nurse practitioners and physician assistants to treat individuals with opioid use disorders with buprenorphine and authorizes grant programs to support states’ efforts to expand access to overdose-reversing drugs like naloxone and MAT programs within the criminal justice system. The legislation also takes an important step of reauthorizing the National All-Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act—known as NASPER—that has allowed states like New Jersey to track opioid prescriptions and prevent abuse and diversion.

The legislation clarifies that a doctor or patient may request that prescriptions for opioid painkillers be partially filled. This will reduce the number of unused pills in circulation, which will reduce the risk of misuse, diversion and overdose. Pallone discussed the importance of the partial pill legislation at Boyt Drugs in Metuchen in April.

Pallone Statement on President Obama’s FY 2017 Budget

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 9, 2016


WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-6) issued the following statement today upon the release of President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2017 Budget.

Recently, Pallone has been the lead on legislation that addresses several of the priorities in the President’s budget, including combating the substance abuse crisis in his Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Reduction Act and increasing funding for innovative biomedical research in the 21st Century Cures Act:

“President Obama’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2017 is a bold, fiscally-responsible plan that expands opportunities for hard-working Americans and invests in our country’s economic future.

“I am particularly pleased that the President’s budget focuses on creating good jobs here at home by bolstering American manufacturing, expanding access to job training, and making critical investments in our infrastructure. This budget also helps middle class families by making higher education more affordable and continuing to expand access to high-quality, affordable health care coverage.

“Americans have always been at the forefront of innovation, which is why I am so encouraged to see the President devoting new resources to tackling some of the greatest challenges of our day. The President’s budget increases funding for potentially life-saving medical research and boosts our efforts to combat the threat of climate change. It also supports important programs that will help to address the substance abuse crisis that has affected far too many families in New Jersey and across the country.

“Budgets are about more than dollars and cents—they are statements of our values as a nation. This forward-looking budget proposal helps to ensure that our economy works for all Americans, and it deserves to be considered in the House. However, Congressional Republicans, in an unprecedented move, are refusing to even allow a hearing on the President’s budget. We should be working together to grow our economy, not playing politics with the budget process. I look forward to helping advance these common sense, responsible proposals that will help make us safer and stronger for years to come.”

Pallone Unveils Comprehensive Legislation to Address Substance Abuse Crisis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 21, 2016


Bill Commits $500 Million Annually to Help Patients in All Stages of Prescription Opioid & Heroin Dependence

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-6), who serves as the Ranking Member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, unveiled comprehensive legislation to address the substance abuse crisis plaguing far too many communities in New Jersey and across the country. Pallone held a press conference at the Damon House in New Brunswick to discuss his bill, the Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Reduction Act, which will commit $500 million annually to help individuals at all stages of crisis, specifically those suffering from prescription opioid and heroin dependence.

“This epidemic affects families from all walks of life and unfortunately, has become personal for too many New Jersey families that have been impacted by addiction or lost loved ones to an overdose,” said Pallone. “My comprehensive bill will tackle the substance abuse crisis we are now facing by providing significant funding for critical treatment and recovery programs. New resources will help to reach those who have fallen through the cracks before it is too late and also provide support to those on a path to recovery.”

The Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Reduction Act has four core elements:

1) Preventing the onset of substance abuse,
2) Responding to those already in crisis,
3) Ensuring access to treatment for all patients, and
4) Supporting life-long recovery from addiction

The legislation sets guidelines requiring those prescribing opioids to undergo critical training; helps to improve a provider’s ability to diagnose addiction; provides funding for state and local governments and community organizations to train first responders, physicians, pharmacists, and the public to respond quickly and effectively to prevent overdoses; and makes naloxone, a safe and effective antidote to overdoses, more affordable.

Pallone noted that the bill also expands evidence-based treatment, including access to medication-assisted treatment; funds syringe exchange programs that often offer a path to treatment and decrease the spread of infectious disease; provides critical resources to communities that recognize a new heroin or opioid outbreak in order to combat addiction swiftly; and creates a new grant program to fund the work done by recovery schools and collegiate recovery programs like the Raymond J. Lesniak Recovery School and the Alcohol and Other Drug Assistance program (ADAP) at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

“These initiatives are critical for saving lives, and we are grateful to Congressman Pallone for his leadership in helping to ensure that evidence-based treatment and ongoing recovery support are readily available for everyone in need,” said Debra Wentz, President and CEO of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies.

“We appreciate Congressman Pallone's support and applaud his call for additional resources for both national and statewide efforts to address the epidemic of prescription opioid and heroin dependence,” said Lisa Laitman, director of the Rutgers Alcohol and Drug Assistance Program. “His particular focus in New Jersey on providing adolescents and young adult access to evidenced-based treatment and recovery support is much needed in light of the toll this epidemic has taken on our young people in New Jersey.”

A factsheet on the legislation is available here. A section-by-section breakdown of the bill is available here.

Letter: Middletown's "faith-based" Initiative Is Wrong

The expressed opinions or views of this letter does not necessarily represent the opinion of the MiddletownMike blog:


Dear Editor,

I was horrified to learn that the Middletown Township Committee in Monmouth County is planning on directing residents to utilize "faith-based" organizations, when seeking assistance with what they describe as "everything from storm recovery to substance abuse services to household finance".

In this country, there is a separation of church and state. The Middletown Township Committee goes onto state that they are going to determine "faith-based organizations capable of collaborating with the township". This sounds like Middletown Township will be providing a preference to certain religious groups over others.

Given how high the property taxes that my parents pay on the family home in Middletown are, I am offended that the all-Republican township committee is not willing to allocate funds to helping the most vulnerable members our community, yet there is always money to give high-paid jobs to the politically-connected.

Government has a responsibility in providing for the social welfare of it’s people. It is a sad reflection on our society's moral compass when a township that spends so much money on high salaries for the well-connected and settling lawsuits for police chiefs accused of racism, is categorically unwilling to assist it's citizens in need, especially around the holidays.

Justin Cooke
Middletown, NJ / Boulder, CO

Rep. Pallone Announces $250,000 to Prevent Youth Substance Abuse in Monmouth and Middlesex Counties

LONG BRANCH, NJ – U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today announced $250,000 in federal grants for youth substance abuse prevention efforts that will benefit his constituents in Monmouth and Middlesex Counties. The grants are administered under the Drug-Free Communities Support Program (DFC) by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The Middlesex County Substance Abuse Coalition and The Prevention Coalition of Monmouth County will each be awarded $125,000 for youth drug and alcohol prevention and education programs. The DFC Support Program provides grants of up to $625,000 over 5 years to community coalitions that facilitate citizen participation in local drug prevention efforts. The program awarded grants totaling more than $80 million to nearly 700 community coalitions across the country.

“Our local organizations are in the best position to tackle the devastating problem of substance abuse among our youth,” said Pallone. “These important federal grants leverage the abilities of our local leaders to educate our youth about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse so we may prevent it in the first place, and keep our communities safe and our young people healthy. We also know that stopping drug use before it ever begins is always the most cost-effective way to reduce drug use and its consequences.”

The DFC Program was created by the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997 and reauthorized by Congress in 2001 and 2006. Since 1998, ONDCP has awarded more than 2,000 Drug-Free Communities grants to local communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, Palau, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia.