{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=61B74C4C-3BBA-409C-B22D-A8C718349E52", "Heitkamp Helps Pass Comprehensive Bill to Boost Life-Saving Medical Research, Tackle Opioid Abuse & Mental Health Challenges", "2016-12-07", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "ND", "Heidi Heitkamp", "H001069", "www.heitkamp.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today announced she helped the U.S. Senate pass comprehensive health legislation that will strengthen federal funding for biomedical research to find a cure for cancer, boost resources for combatting opioid abuse, and improve critical mental health programs.\r\nThe bill \u2013 which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last week and now heads to the president\u2019s desk to be signed into law \u2013 includes two of Heitkamp\u2019s bipartisan bills she introduced with Republican senators to improve access to quality health services, particularly in rural areas.\r\nHeitkamp has been a key advocate in Congress working to combat the nation\u2019s opioid abuse crisis head on, and repeatedly advocated for more robust addiction and recovery federal resources \u2013 which this bill helps provide. She has also spearheaded efforts in the U.S. Senate to educate senators and their staff about the long-term physical and psychological impact that traumatic events experienced at a young age \u2013 including abuse, violence, or disaster \u2013 can have on children and communities. Today\u2019s bill includes legislation Heitkamp cosponsored to continue and build programs aimed at reducing the impact of childhood traumatic stress and preventing suicide.\r\n\u201cFor too long families and individuals have suffered in silence as a result of traumatic events they experienced as children, from the pain of opioid abuse, or from encountering disease or illness,\u201d said Heitkamp. \u201cThis bill isn\u2019t perfect, but it makes real progress by supporting critical research that could help find a cure for cancer and other diseases, addressing opioid abuse, and preventing suicide and reducing the impact of traumatic stress. But we can\u2019t stop there. Rural families and businesses know that accessing equipment like wheelchairs and oxygen tanks in their hometowns, and helping their employees obtain quality health care shouldn\u2019t be a challenge. That\u2019s why I fought to include my bipartisan bills to improve access to quality care for rural communities in today\u2019s legislation. We can face the challenges of addiction, trauma, and disease while improving access to care \u2013 and we can do it together.\u201d\r\nA member of the U.S. Senate\u2019s Rural Health Care Caucus, Heitkamp has consistently championed of the need for improved access to health care and consistently worked to bring attention to the priorities of rural communities in America\u2019s heartland in the U.S. Senate. Today\u2019s legislation builds on Heitkamp\u2019s work for rural America, as well as her efforts to promote biomedical research and development in North Dakota, to combat the state\u2019s growing opioid abuse crisis, and to reduce the impact of traumatic stress among children, by:\r\n \r\nBoosting life-saving research and development in North Dakota. Today\u2019s legislation would provide $4.8 billion in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for projects that work to find cures to the country\u2019s most perplexing and threatening diseases and conditions, including cancer. This support builds on Heitkamp\u2019s work to boost life-saving biomedical research across North Dakota \u2013 from helping secure almost $700,000 for expanded biomedical research opportunities at Cankdeska Cikana Community College (CCCC)\u00a0 in 2014, to helping secure almost $400,000 last year to bolster North Dakota State University\u2019s colon cancer treatment research.\r\n \r\n \r\nConfronting North Dakota\u2019s opioid abuse crisis. Today\u2019s legislation would provide $1 billion over two years to states to implement prevention and treatment options for individuals and families batting opioid addiction and abuse. Heitkamp has been fighting for such community-based prevention and treatment resources since helping pass the nation\u2019s Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act in March, unveiling legislation to help provide such resources this summer, and hosting listening sessions with community leaders, treatment experts, law enforcement, and families who have been touched by abuse across the state. From 2013-2014 alone, opioid-related deaths in North Dakota increased by 125 percent.\r\n \r\n \r\nReducing the impact of childhood trauma. A leader in the U.S. Senate on tackling the impact of traumatic events \u2013 particularly when they occur at a young age \u2013 Heitkamp joined and helped fight to include in today\u2019s legislation a bill to improve and strengthen current mental health programs aimed at preventing suicide and combatting the long-term psychological and physical impacts of childhood trauma. In August, Heitkamp led the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs\u2019 first-ever field hearing on trauma among Native youth, and has hosted an educational series on the impacts of trauma for members of the U.S. Senate and their staff to help build legislative solutions to mitigate its impacts.\r\n \r\n \r\nExpanding rural access to critical medical equipment. Today\u2019s legislation includes Heitkamp\u2019s bipartisan Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act. Introduced with Senator John Thune (R-SD), the bill will help connect patients in rural areas with the medical equipment they need, such as wheelchairs and oxygen tanks, in their home communities.\r\n \r\n \r\nProviding solutions for small businesses to help employees obtain quality care. Today\u2019s legislation includes Heitkamp\u2019s Small Business Health Care Act which she reintroduced in June with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA). The bill aims to help small businesses stay competitive by allowing them to help their employees buy health insurance.\r\n \r\n \r\nImproving access to critical health services in rural and remote communities. Today\u2019s legislation helps boost resources for critical access hospitals in high-need rural and remote areas, including outpatient therapy services for families in such communities. In September, Heitkamp announced that after pushing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to recognize how essential the Critical Access designation is for the Jamestown Regional Medical Center (JRMC) and community it serves, CMS finalized its decision to maintain JRMC as a Critical Access hospital.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=61B74C4C-3BBA-409C-B22D-A8C718349E52"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.780517864972353, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}