Under pressure from Congress to take action amid a worsening opioid epidemic, the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced several measures aimed at dealing with abuse.

Dr. Robert Califf, the acting commissioner and nominee to run the agency, announced the measures in a phone conference with reporters. He said the steps were an attempt by the agency to toughen its response to the crisis, in which tens of thousands of Americans were addicted to the prescription painkillers and were dying of overdoses. He said the actions were part of a broader government effort: Earlier this week, the Obama administration said it would ask Congress to spend an additional $1.1 billion next year on the problem, which would help increase badly needed treatment facilities.

“It has reached a point where we felt we had to step back and take a careful look at everything and see what we could do,” Dr. Califf said. “We thought we could do more.”

The decrees include convening an expert panel before approving some new opioids, strengthening requirements to study a drug after it has come to market, and increasing access to training on pain management for doctors and other prescribers.