A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate is aimed at fighting the opioid epidemic in rural areas of the United States. Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have teamed to introduce the proposal (pdf), which is called the Rural Opioid Abuse Prevention Act. Among the provisions are codifying a Department of Justice program that provides grants to rural communities to help them combat opioid overdoses; shifting some of the federal funding from the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to rural areas; and examining gaps in prevention, treatment, and recovery services for people who are caught up with the law. “Like so many Georgians, I’ve lost friends to the opioid epidemic. My bipartisan bill with Senator Grassley will fund efforts in rural communities to prevent and treat addiction and to save lives,” Ossoff, a freshman senator from Georgia, said in a statement. “We’ve made some progress …