A member of the Capitol Police walks past the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 5:34 PM PT – Thursday, December 9, 2021
The Senate passed a bipartisan bill to combat the opioid crisis in rural communities.
On Wednesday, the Senate approved the “Rural Opioid Abuse Prevention Act” by unanimous consent. The legislation, introduced by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) back in September, increases resources for rural communities to respond to and combat the crisis.
“With today’s passage of my bipartisan bill to reduce opioid addiction, overdoses, and deaths, the Senate proved Democrats and Republicans can still work together to get things done,” said Ossoff after the bill was passed.
Last night Senate passed my bipart Rural Opioid Abuse Prevention Act w Sen Ossoff Drug overdose deaths @ record levels Bill will help fight opioid crisis in rural IA Gives communities tools 2 prevent/handle opioid crisis Time 4 House 2 pass!
— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) December 9, 2021
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 75,000 people died of opioid overdoses between April of 2020 and April of this year. This showed a 35 percent increase in opioid overdose deaths from the previous year.
The bill is now headed to the House for the lower chamber’s consideration.
