Chester County's Rep. Costello: End The Opioid Epidemic In PA

Congressman Ryan Costello (PA-06). who represents Chester County in Congress, spoke on the House floor last night about the work being done in the U.S. House of Representatives to address the opioid epidemic, according to his office.

With nearly 2,500 overdose deaths in Pennsylvania in 2014, Congressman Costello highlighted the importance of combating an epidemic that damages communities and destroys families.

As a member of the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic, Costello said in a news release that he has focused on finding commonsense solutions to addressing different facets of the epidemic, including empowering those working on the frontlines and working to prevent addiction from happening in the first place.

The House is taking “positive, productive steps on a bipartisan basis to get those on the frontlines in our communities the resources they need,” Costello said. The Congressman also praised the life sciences industry in Pennsylvania’s Sixth District for their tremendous strides in abuse deterrent medicines.

In March, Costello helped introduce legislation to increase drug prevention efforts. H.R. 4697, the Prevent Drug Addiction Act, a key piece on the agenda of the Bipartisan Task Force To Combat the Heroin Epidemic. This forward-looking legislation tackles the epidemic on the preventative side through education and measures to prevent and treat prescription drug addiction.

In Pennsylvania, Costello recently organized a roundtable with local officials to hear more about what needs to be done. The meeting produced innovative ideas for a multilateral approach to the epidemic, and Costello is focused on being part of the solution by supporting legislation that improves partnership.

“We’re not saying that by passing laws we end the epidemic,” Costello said. “But what we can do is improve collaboration and better align resources from and for the various stakeholders, so that together we can turn the trajectory of this epidemic, which is on a very dangerous course … into a declining direction, which is what we need to do.”