Evaluation of US Federal Legislation for Opioid Abuse: 1973-2016.

The 114th Congress (2014-2016) has received recent attention for the high number of legislative bills directed to the public health crisis in prescription opioid abuse. The US government does not have a single source for determining public policy; however, the people expect that there will be some level of efficiency and coordination between federal and state leaders to improve the nation's health. A search of the National Library of Congress database to analyze legislative bills introduced between 1973 and 2016 and which contain the term "opioid" identified 127 bills that characterize consistency and coordination with other governmental efforts in prescription opioid abuse. Despite the recent number of introduced bills, there does not appear to be a close coordination between Congress and Federal Administrative agencies regarding this crisis.