In a rare showing of bipartisanship, the U.S. Senate passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act last week by an overwhelming margin of 94-1. The critically important measure now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives where it demands immediate attention and passage in the Republican-controlled chamber.

The proposed measure designates more than $300 million over five years in federal grants to state and local programs aimed at strengthening treatment for addicts while expanding prevention efforts aimed at addressing the prescription-drug abuse epidemic. This legislation not only focuses on treatment and prevention, but also provides expanded access to overdose-reversal drugs for first responders.

Area lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., all backed the proposed legislation. Capito is correctly calling the prescription-drug abuse epidemic a “national emergency” that crosses all socio-economic lines.

She is correct. But it is also a crisis that has taken a deadly toll on the coalfield counties of southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia. West Virginia now leads the nation in drug-related overdose deaths, more than twice the national average.

In Virginia, the prescription drug-abuse crisis claimed more lives in 2014 than vehicle crashes. Nationally, drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., with 47,055 lethal drug overdoses in 2014. Opioid addiction drove the epidemic, with 18,893 overdose deaths related to prescription pain relievers, and 10,574 overdose deaths related to heroin.

Kaine says he didn’t fully realize the magnitude of the prescription drug-abuse crisis until a stop in Southwest Virginia in 2013. At the time he was scheduled to meet with the Daily Telegraph’s editorial board, and to participate in a round-table forum in Tazewell County. He was surprised when both session turned into prolonged discussions about the drug crisis.

An amendment to the CARA act co-sponsored by Kaine would help identify individuals at risk of addiction, connect them with resources, and restrict them to one pharmacy and one provider when accessing controlled substances. Manchin, in return, has pushed to require more intense training for medical providers on safely prescribing drugs as part of the CARA Act.

While there is no simple solution to the prescription drug abuse crisis, the CARA Act will certainly help. And the federal grant funding in the measure for the states will go a long ways in terms of providing new treatment, training and prevention options.

It is now imperative for the House to act quickly on the CARA bill. The prescription drug-abuse epidemic is a crisis that demands immediate action.