; Whereas only 25 percent of adults are vaccinated against hepatitis B in the United States; Whereas the number of reported acute hepatitis B cases increased by 20 percent nationwide in 2015, and there have been significant regional increases in acute hepatitis B cases in the United States as a result of the opioid epidemic, with Maine reporting a 729-percent increase in acute hepatitis B infections from 2015 to 2017, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Tennessee reporting a 114-percent increase from 2009 to 2013, southeastern Massachusetts reporting a 78-percent increase in 2017, and North Carolina reporting a 62-percent increase from 2012 to 2016; Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hepatitis B is 50 to 100 times more infectious than HIV and 5 to 10 times more infectious than hepatitis C; and Whereas there are significant opportunities to prevent new hepatitis B infections and subsequently reduce the incidence of liver cancer and cirrhosis through efforts to increase adult hepatitis B vaccination and maintain childhood hepatitis B vaccination, particularly within the setting of the opioid epidemic: Now, therefore, be it