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Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green), a leader in Congress on addressing the opioid crisis, spoke about the impact of the epidemic for communities across Ohio at an Energy and Commerce (E&C) Subcommittee on Health hearing. The rare two-day hearing, entitled, “Combating the Opioid Crisis: Prevention and Public Health Solutions,” is focused on more than 20 different bills aimed at combating the epidemic.

Latta brought up his legislation, the INFO Act, during the first panel of the hearing. The INFO Act has been highlighted by E&C Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) as legislation that would make a real difference in communities around the country. The bill helps state and local governments, advocates, health care providers, and law enforcement by collecting and aggregating data and information relating to the crisis and making it available in one location.

Latta said about the hearing, “This crisis is ending lives far too soon and destroying families. Too many babies are born with complications and addiction, and children are losing parents. I believe my bill, the INFO Act, will help to unravel and solve this epidemic by allowing advocates and health care providers to better access information and data on the nationwide efforts to combat opioid abuse, and more easily search for available funding.”

Watch video of Latta’s questions here.

In 2016, 4,050 Ohio residents died of unintentional drug overdoses, the highest in the nation and a 32% increase over 2015. Overdose deaths are skyrocketing with 5,200 lost lives in a 12-month period between June 2016 and June 2017 – a 39 percent increase from the previous year and three times the national average.

More than 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016, including illicit drugs and prescription opioids. That number nearly doubled over the past decade, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Latta has been a leader in his role on the Energy and Commerce Committee on efforts to combat the epidemic through the introduction of the INFO Act and his participation in discussions held on the crisis at the White House.
 
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