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President Trump Signs Walberg Opioid Legislation into Law

October 24, 2018

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Representative Tim Walberg (MI-07) was at the White House on Wednesday to attend President Trump's signing ceremony for H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. This landmark law to combat the opioid crisis includes two bipartisan provisions authored by Reps. Tim Walberg and Debbie Dingell, Jessie's Law and the Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act. In addition to these provisions, H.R.6 includes a series of legislative solutions to enhance treatment and recovery programs, increase prevention efforts, direct more resources to communities, and fight the synthetic drug fentanyl.

"After months and months of collaboration, our bipartisan legislation to tackle the opioid crisis is now law of the land," said Walberg. "The opioid crisis continues to claim lives and devastate dreams, and families in Michigan know this pain all too well. This landmark law will make a tangible difference by equipping our communities with additional tools to address addiction and preventing illicit drugs from coming into our country. I'm grateful to work with Rep. Dingell in this effort, and I remain committed to helping save lives and stopping the opioid epidemic in its tracks."

Jessie's Law is named after Michigan resident Jessie Grubb who tragically died of an opioid overdose in 2016. Jessie's Law will help ensure doctors have access to a consenting patient's prior history of addiction in order to make fully informed care and treatment decisions.

The Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act will help prevent the misuse or diversion of unused medications by equipping hospice professionals with the legal authority to safely dispose of unused drugs after a hospice patient's death.

As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force, Congressman Walberg has been a leader in collaborating on and developing solutions to address the opioid crisis. To learn more about his work on this issue, visit walberg.house.gov/heroin.