WASHINGTON, D.C.- (WTAP) A bill addressing the opioid crisis appear to be near passage in the U.S. Senate.
The Opioid Crisis Response Act has been supported by senators from both political parties in both West Virginia and Ohio.
It's a comprehensive act designed to address the addiction death rate, on which West Virginia and Ohio lead the nation.
Senators we spoke to Wednesday see signs local officials are working to solve the problem as well.
"Huntington has lowered their overdose rate by 41%," Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) noted. "So, yes, it can be done. But it has to be a spectrum of solutions from law enforcement, health care, community response, government and other entities."
"I think Congress is finally moving bi-partisan with a package Senator Capito, Portman and I have worked on," said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH). "I'm optimistic that can happen in the next couple of weeks."
Recently-released data shows more than 1,000 West Virginia residents died from drug overdoses in 2017-the first year that number reached four digits.
