Press Release: 12/3/2025

Markey Legislation Eliminating Opioid-Related Infectious Disease Act Reauthorized into Law

 

Washington (December 3, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), top Democrat on the Primary Health and Pensions subcommittee of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today celebrated the passage of his bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) ongoing initiative to eliminate the risk of infectious disease caused by substance use disorder to continue through 2030. The legislation was included in the larger SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act, which was signed into law on December 1.

In 2018, Senators Markey, Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.) secured the passage of legislation to expand the CDC’s initiative to collaborate with states to improve education, surveillance, and treatment of opioid use-related infectious diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C.

“The opioid epidemic is a public health crisis, and infectious diseases compound the health challenges faced by Americans suffering from substance use disorder,” said Senator Markey. “Our federal government has a duty to empower providers serving on the frontlines so they can treat every impact of this epidemic, including the spread of infectious diseases. I am proud to see theEliminating Opioid-Related Infectious Disease Act pass into law so we can give Americans access to life-saving treatment through commonsense programs. It’s critical that this administration ends its war on science and ensures the CDC has the resources it needs to reduce the harms from substance use disorder. We need to lead with care that is compassionate to end this opioid and overdose crisis once and for all.”