Received from Congresswoman Katherine Clark ( CD – 5) today : ” Yesterday, the House unanimously passed my bipartisan bill to help the tiniest victims of the opioid epidemic, the Protecting Our Infants Act.
The number of babies born exposed to opioids has increased dramatically in recent years, and doctors and hospitals are struggling with the best way to deal with this crisis and treat these newborns. I’m so glad that the House was able to work together to pass this legislation – the first federal legislation to deal with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome – and take a positive step in helping to alleviate the suffering of thousands of babies each year.”
Well done, Katherine. We are all so proud of you.
Fred Rich LaRiccia
Please share widely!
The “Protecting Our Infants Act”, S.799 was filed by GOP Senate President Mitch McConnell. McConnell and WBUR have been very generous in their praise of Clark for reaching across the aisle but details matter.
Sure, details matter. So, why not look them up?
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr1462/text/eh
This is a very simple bill doing little but calling upon the federal government to address the issues. It only does three basic things:
1) Section 3 directs HHS to “conduct a study and develop recommendations for preventing and treating prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome…” They get a year to issue a comprehensive report.
2) Section 4 directs HHS to “review” current services to “develop a strategy to address research and program gaps.” And they get a year to issue a report.
3) Section 5 directs thee Director of the Centers for Disease Control to “provide technical assistance to States to improve the availability and quality of data collection and surveillance activities regarding neonatal abstinence syndrome.”
That’s it. That’s what this bill does.
I’m no Mitch McConnell fan but to suggest that his mere lead sponsorship of this bill in the Senate is a an “oh dear” reason to oppose is irresponsible and silly. The details matter.
…but he has this annoying habit of pointing out where people are wrong and seems to take perverse pleasure in it.
first detail: Mitch McConnell is Senate Majority Leader, not Senate President.
second detail: Congresswoman Clark sponsored the bill in the House of Representatives, where she is a member, after reaching out to Senator McConnell to win bi-partisan support.
Fred Rich LaRiccia
about McConnell holding the title of Senate Majority Leader, not President. I stand corrected.
But it was McConnell’s bill that became law. Again, as I noted in my previous post, McConnell and WBUR were very generous in giving credit to Clark.