WASHINGTON—Today on International Overdose Awareness Day, Congressman Paul D. Tonko marked the milestone achievement of his bipartisan Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act receiving the official support of more than 100 House members who signed on as co-sponsors of the legislation. Tonko’s bill would expand access to life-saving addiction treatment by clearing the bureaucratic… Read more »
ALBANY, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko cheered news that the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse in Menands, NY is being awarded $850,000 in federal funding to provide resources and trainings for New York’s first responders to help prevent prescription drug and opioid overdose-related deaths. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will be distributing… Read more »
WASHINGTON—Congressman Paul D. Tonko cheered House passage today of major funding expansions for U.S. mental health and addiction programs that he has been pushing to secure as part of the Fiscal Year 2022 Federal Budget. Tonko provisions that advanced in the package include funding for opioid treatment programs, substance use prevention grants and research to examine the impact of the… Read more »
WASHINGTON—Representatives Paul D. Tonko (D-NY) announced today that he has introduced his bipartisan, bicameral Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) 3.0 Act with bill sponsor David Trone (D-MD) aimed at mitigating the effects of COVID-19 on the addiction epidemic and increasing funding for prevention, education, research, treatment and recovery. The bill builds on previous… Read more »
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congressman Paul D. Tonko announced today that $170,566,276 in funding from the American Rescue Plan—COVID legislation backed by Tonko— has been awarded to New York State to support mental health and addiction services. Funding will be administered by the New York State Department of Health and the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) and is… Read more »
WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Paul D. Tonko addressed the top Biden Administration health official today during a Health Subcommittee hearing to push for the advance of two major, bipartisan addiction treatment bills he authored. Tonko called for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra to support the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act and the… Read more »
AMSTERDAM, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko joined a bipartisan coalition to introduce H.Res.364, a resolution recognizing the contributions of America’s addiction professionals workforce, which represents more than 100,000 counselors, educators, and other addiction-focused health care professionals who specialize in prevention, intervention, treatment, recovery support and education. The… Read more »
AMSTERDAM, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko cheered news today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will release new practice guidelines that scale back the so-called “x-waiver” and allow practitioners to more easily prescribe buprenorphine—a proven effective opioid addiction treatment—to patients. Tonko has long fought to remove this outdated barrier and expand access… Read more »
WASHINGTON—Congressman Paul D. Tonko made a strong case for Congress to advance two key pieces of addiction treatment legislation today during a Congressional hearing in the Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health confronting the nation’s opioid epidemic. Tonko’s bills include the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act, which removes pointless barriers preventing medical… Read more »
WASHINGTON—Representatives Paul D. Tonko (D-NY) and Michael Turner (R-OH) and Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced the reintroduction of their Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act, legislation that would vastly increase access to life-saving addiction medicine by eliminating a duplicative bureaucratic hurdle—colloquially known as the… Read more »
