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Foster Amendments Adopted by House

June 13, 2019

WASHINGTON, DC – Late last night, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted all four amendments offered by Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) as part of the appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education.

The four amendments offered by Congressman Foster and adopted in the legislation would:

  • Eliminate a provision in the bill that prevents HHS from adopting standards related to unique health identifiers for patients. Unique patient identifiers would prevent "doctor shopping" for opioid prescriptions, lower costs, reduce medical errors, and save lives. [VIDEO]
  • Instruct HHS to prioritize funding for medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders. Research has shown that medication-assisted treatment can decrease opioid use, opioid-related overdose deaths, criminal activity, and infectious disease transmission. [VIDEO]
  • Instruct the Bureau of Labor Statistics to accept a wider and more forward-looking range of data when making workforce projections and incorporate the effects of technological change on the nature of work. [VIDEO]
  • Increase the HHS Public Health and Response account by $1 million to support increased research and development for biosecurity. [VIDEO]

"I'm proud to have these amendments adopted by the House," Foster said. "These amendments would strengthen our health care system, help fight the opioid epidemic, enhance America's biosecurity readiness, and better equip policymakers to prepare for the workforce of the future. I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for working and voting with me on these important measures."