WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Paul D. Tonko cheered the announcement today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will release new guidelines allowing physicians 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 Tonko has long fought to remove this outdated barrier and expand access to the life-saving medication with his… Read more »
“These first-responders and essential workers have kept our communities going under challenging circumstances, and they need to know we have their backs. Our legislation delivers that assurance and puts our region and nation on a more solid footing to weather this storm.” Read more »
Washington, DC—United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Congressman Joe Kennedy III (D-MA-04), along with Senators Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI); and Representatives Doris Matsui (D-CA-06), Paul Tonko (D-NY-20), John Katko (R-NY-24) and 68 of their Senate and House colleagues, sent a letter to Congressional leadership requesting emergency… Read more »
WASHINGTON—U.S. Representatives Paul D. Tonko (D-NY) and David McKinley (R-WV) announced the introduction of new bipartisan legislation today in the House of Representatives to reduce red tape and make it easier for patients with a substance use disorder (SUD) to get treatment through state-run Medicaid programs. The legislation, H.R. 3925: Reducing Barriers to Substance Use Treatment… Read more »
WASHINGTON – Representatives Paul Tonko (NY-20) and Michael Turner (OH-10) have formally introduced bipartisan legislation empowering states to expand access to addiction treatment through Medicaid for individuals up to 30 days before their release from jail or prison. The bill, H.R. 1329: the Medicaid Reentry Act, responds to alarming evidence that individuals reentering society after… Read more »
WASHINGTON – Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, by a vote of 393-8. Four sections of the bill were written by Congressman Tonko, including an expansion of medication-assisted treatment, a multi-year priority that will help meaningfully combat the opioid crisis and reduce overdose deaths.
“Overdoses claimed more than 64,000… Read more »
WASHINGTON – Last night, it was announced that Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Congressman Ben Ray Luján’s (D-NM) bipartisan addiction treatment bill, H.R. 3692: Addiction Treatment Access Improvement Act, was included in the final opioid package agreement that was negotiated between the House and Senate. In the Senate, companion legislation was led by Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Rand… Read more »
ALBANY, NY – Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) announced today that $250,000 has been awarded to two Capital Region organizations through the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Drug-Free Communities (DFC) program. The awards will go to support programs that help prevent youth substance use in two local Capital Region communities, including:
Troy Drug Free Community… Read more »
“Empowering our health care workforce to better understand and effectively prevent and treat substance use disorder will yield dividends in our fight against the opioid epidemic,” Rep. Tonko said. “I’m proud to stand with Congressman Johnson in introducing this critical legislation that will strengthen the tools and information we use to educate the next generation of health care professionals and ensure they have the resources they need to be effective frontline responders in this epidemic.” Read more »
