A new bill shared first with The Hill from Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) would help health care providers to purchase and distribute “lethal means safety” supplies — like lockboxes or safes — for children at risk of overdose or suicide.
Physicians would then provide parents with the means to safely store opioids or other dangerous materials and keep them away from at-risk children in the home. The idea of lethal means safety focuses on temporarily securing whatever a child may be considering using to commit suicide, such as drugs or weapons.
Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
The legislation amends part of the SUPPORT Act, which focuses on prevention, treatment and recovery services for opioid misuse, including fentanyl. The bill was first passed in 2018, but lawmakers missed a September deadline to reauthorize many of its provisions.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously passed a limited version of the bill over the summer, but the full House chamber hasn’t yet approved the legislation. It’s not clear whether Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) considers the bill a priority.
The Senate Health Committee will meet next week to consider its version of the bill.
