Opioid Epidemic

It is critical that Congress do more to combat the opioid epidemic, especially in our home state of Kentucky. Our Commonwealth has been hit hard by the epidemic, as we have the fifth highest overdose mortality rate in the nation. That’s why I have supported major opioid projects in the Sixth District that include:

• An $87 million federal grant to the University of Kentucky to support UK’s HEALing Communities research. This project aims to reduce opioid fatalities by 40% in three years across sixteen counties in Kentucky, including Franklin, Bourbon, Fayette, Jessamine, Clark and Madison counties in the Sixth District.
• Supporting the University of Kentucky’s PATHways/Beyond Birth Team application, securing a $4.9 million federal grant.
• Supporting the Chrysalis House’s grant application, securing $2.6 million to provide services to pregnant and postpartum women and their children.
• Secured $1.5 million to the Commonwealth of Kentucky for the Recovery Housing Program.
• Secured a $616,704 community project funding grant for Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government’s (LFUCG) Barrier Free Re-Entry and Recovery Initiative (BFREE) to respond to the substance use disorder emergencies that plague the 6th Congressional District.

Legislative Actions:

• Cosponsored the SUPPORT Act, which modifies various grants, programs, and activities that address substance use and misuse.
• Sponsored the CAREER Act which supports Americans recovering from substance use disorder by ensuring they have the support they need to reenter the workforce and maintain gainful employment. Since becoming law, the CAREER Act has directed nearly $11.5 million to the Commonwealth, helping hundreds of Kentuckians recovering from substance use disorder.
• Signed a letter in support of the Comprehensive Opioid Revcovery Centers Program which provides funding to establish Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers in areas that have been adversely impacted by high overdose rates.
• Sponsored the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act which makes Chinese entities sanctionable as foreign opioid traffickers if they produce, sell, finance or transport synthetic opioids or precursors.
• Cosponsored of the STOP Fentanyl Act which corrects the discrepancy between fentanyl and other drugs by reducing the threshold for mandatory minimum penalties for fentanyl-related offenses.