Committee Advances Major Bill to Address Fentanyl Crisis with Critical Bipartisan Measures Authored by Senator Hassan

WASHINGTON – The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee today voted to advance a bill to reauthorize the bipartisan SUPPORT Act – a landmark investment in addiction prevention, treatment, recovery, and law enforcement efforts that Senator Hassan and colleagues worked to pass into law in 2018. Senator Hassan has been pushing for the reauthorization of the SUPPORT Act, and the updated legislation includes bipartisan provisions that Senator Hassan authored.

Watch Senator Hassan’s remarks at the markup here.

“As the fentanyl epidemic continues to devastate families in the Granite State, I was glad to advance bipartisan legislation that builds upon our addiction care infrastructure and provides essential prevention, treatment, and recovery resources," said Senator Hassan. "I worked with my colleagues across the aisle to extend critical programs that are already making a difference in New Hampshire, ensuring that there are stable and predictable resources for the recovery community so that providers and advocates can focus on their patients and help save lives." 

The package advanced today incorporates a number of bipartisan bills that Senator Hassan helped introduce to address the fentanyl crisis, including:

• Senator Hassan’s bipartisan bill with Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) to reauthorize and double the Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program, which provides student loan repayment for health care workers who focus on addiction treatment and recovery in underserved areas
• Senator Hassan’s bipartisan bill with Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) to help expand access to fentanyl and xylazine test strips, a critical tool to help lower overdose deaths
• Senator Hassan’s bipartisan bill with Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to ensure that first responders and other essential community members have access to training on how to use life-saving overdose reversal drugs, like naloxone
• Senator Hassan’s bipartisan bill with Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to enhance patient safety and deter fraud by requiring electronic prescriptions for all Schedule II-IV controlled substances, including opioids. These medications have a higher potential for misuse – and electronic prescriptions can prevent fraudulent prescribing as well as doctor shopping, a practice in which people get duplicative prescriptions either for their own use or to sell on the black market
• Provisions of Senator Hassan’s bipartisan bill with Senator Murkowski and colleagues to bolster federal prevention and education efforts surrounding the dangers of fentanyl

The HELP Committee also voted today to advance the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act, bipartisan legislation Senator Hassan helped introduce to improve access to medication-assisted treatment for addiction care by allowing more addiction specialists to prescribe methadone. 

Additionally, HELP Committee voted to advance the Advancing Research in Education Act, which supports states, schools, and educators with research and technical assistance to improve student performance. The bipartisan bill includes key provisions that Senator Hassan advocated for to support math and science education and support students with disabilities.

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