U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) issued the following statement after the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the Alternatives to Opioids (ALTO) in the Emergency Department Act and advanced the bill to the full chamber:

“In just two years, the ALTO program of St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Paterson, New Jersey has successfully decreased emergency department opioid prescriptions by more than 80 percent,” said Rep. Pascrell. “Today’s full Committee passage of this bipartisan legislation brings us one step closer to taking St. Joseph's ALTO model nationwide, so that hospitals and emergency departments can prevent unnecessary opioids from getting into patients’ hands. As the opioid crisis remains an unrelenting threat to the wellbeing of our communities, I remain committed to getting a final ALTO bill to the President’s desk by the end of this year.”

The Alternatives to Opioids (ALTO) in the Emergency Department Act establishes a demonstration program to test alternative pain management protocols to limit the use of opioids in emergency departments, and provides grant funding to build these programs.

H.R. 5197, is sponsored by Reps. Pascrell, David McKinley (R-WV), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Scott R. Tipton (R-CO), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Andy Barr (R-KY), Ron Kind (D-WI), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Bruce Poliquin (R-ME). Now that the legislation has passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee, it will go to the floor of the House of Representatives for consideration by the full chamber.

Companion legislation in the Senate, S. 2516, is sponsored by Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), and Cory Gardner (R-CO). Part of this legislation passed out of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions in April and awaits action on the Senate floor.