
Warner, Kaine highlight federal budget impacts on Virginia
U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine applauded Senate passage of the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill.

U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine applauded Senate passage of the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill.

Attorney General Mark R. Herring is premiering Heroin: The Hardest Hit, a powerful documentary about the danger of heroin and prescription drugs and their impact on Virginia families and communities.

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) announced Friday that he has signed onto bipartisan legislation to reform Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare to provide safer and more effective pain management services to our nation’s veterans.

U.S. Senators Mark Warner, Tim Kaine and Joe Manchin sent a letter on Wednesday to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) calling for an investigation into the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to approve OxyContin for use by children as young as 11-years-old and an examination of the rise in the opioid misuse, abuse and consequent overdose deaths.

In Virginia, 641,000 people suffer from addiction or dependence on drugs and alcohol and need treatment, but are not current receiving it. Across the country, 23 million Americans suffer from addiction, and only 1 in 10 are being treated.

New legislation will take effect in Virginia today, including a trio of bills from Attorney General Mark R. Herring to address Virginia’s heroin and prescription drug overdose crisis.

This week, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine introduced the FDA Accountability for Public Safety Act, bipartisan legislation that would hold the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accountable for the approval of new opioid drugs, ensuring experts’ voices are heard as new and potentially dangerous opioid medications are considered for approval.

U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) introduced the Opioid Overdose Reduction Act to protect first responders, health professionals and family members who are educated in administering an opioid overdose prevention drug, such as naloxone (also known as Narcan) in an emergency situation of overdose.

As the General Assembly adjourned Friday, Attorney General Mark R. Herring highlighted the passage of several bills from his office to address Virginia’s heroin and prescription drug crisis, to protect children, seniors, and survivors of domestic violence, and to promote public safety throughout Virginia.

Earlier today, the House of Delegates passed the final piece of Attorney General Mark R. Herring’s bipartisan package of heroin and prescription drug legislation, HB1500 to allow safe reporting of overdoses in progress, meaning that all four bills have now passed their chamber in the General Assembly.