It is not just because of a general concern for babies born addicted to opioids that three members of Congress from West Virginia and four from Ohio are taking leadership roles in an attempt to help the little ones. Those states have been hit very hard by that tragedy within the scourge of substance abuse.

Neonatal abstinence syndrome, as it is called, results when pregnant women abuse drugs such as heroin. Because the opioids enter their bloodstreams, their unborn babies become, in effect, addicted.

The babies come into the world suffering from opioid withdrawal symptoms. That presents special challenges to health care professionals. Though the longterm effects are not well understood, it is believed the children suffer from problems such as slow development.

Bills intended to provide federal aid to those who help babies with NAS recover have been introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, under the title Caring Recovery for Infants and Babies Act, or CRIB.

Only a handful of co-sponsors had signed on to the bills, but the geography is telling. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., is one of three co-sponsors for the Senate bill. Another is Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, while the primary sponsor is Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.

Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., is a co-sponsor of the House bill, with Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va., the primary sponsor. Two Ohio congressmen are among the six co-sponsors.

NAS is a serious crisis in both these states, though West Virginia appears to have been hit much harder than Ohio.

In Chautauqua County, newborn drug-related diagnosis rates increased drastically from 2005 to 2014. From 2012 to 2014, 118 babies born tested positive for drugs in the delivery hospital, resulting in a rate of 305.6 per 10,000 newborn discharges, nearly three times greater than the New York state rate of 103.5 per 10,000. Nationwide, a baby is born with NAS about every 25 minutes.

In both the Senate and House of Representatives, no time should be wasted in approving the CRIB Act. It would provide valuable resources to aid local efforts in helping children born addicted — both most in need of specialized care and least able to help themselves.