[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 116 (Wednesday, August 1, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H5529]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from West 
Virginia (Mr. Rahall) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge legislative action on a 
widespread public health crisis.
  I want to thank, first of all, my colleagues, especially my good 
neighbor and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, the 
gentleman from Kentucky, Mr. Hal Rogers, Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack, 
and Congressmen Steve Lynch and Bill Keating--whom you'll hear from in 
a moment--all tremendous leaders in our fight to stop this epidemic.
  The CDC has confirmed what local leaders and professionals across the 
board have been struggling with daily: prescription drug abuse is a 
national epidemic--a term the CDC does not use lightly.
  It is no longer a silent epidemic. It can be seen at any hour of any 
day on street corners and in school yards. Every day, there are new 
stories reporting overdoses, deaths, accidents, and tragedies of 
families torn apart by the vicious cycle of prescription drug abuse. 
And the cycle is certainly vicious.
  Unlike cocaine or heroin, prescription drugs are legal and frequently 
prescribed by caring physicians who are led by the principle oath of 
``first do no harm.'' Yet, alarming statistics show that children and 
adults are blind to the harmful consequences of these drugs even as 
they become addicted, paying upwards of $150 per pill to buy them on 
the black market.
  Distressingly, my home State of West Virginia has our Nation's 
highest rate of drug-related deaths. In fact, between 2001 and 2008, 
more than 9 out of 10 of those deaths involved prescription drugs. 
Incredibly, drug overdoses now kill more West Virginians each year than 
do car accidents.
  But the alarming use and deaths by prescription drugs is not just in 
West Virginia. As other distinguished Members will tell you, 
prescription drug abuse hits everyone, whether you're 9 or 90, whether 
you're rich or poor, living in big cities or small towns, whether 
you're Democrat, Independent, Republican, or whatever, anywhere in our 
great United States.
  We know there is no one single answer, no single action, and no 
silver bullet in the fight against prescription drug abuse. I've met 
many times with law enforcement, community organizations, educators, 
physicians, and many other constituents, and I know that fighting back 
against prescription drug abuse will take the work of an entire 
village.
  We must strengthen drug diversion, educate children and adults on 
prevention, work with the medical community on addiction and pain 
treatment, and treat and rehabilitate those affected by vicious 
addiction before they succumb to the death spiral.

                              {time}  1020

  I and my distinguished colleagues have put forth and supported 
legislation that aims to combat prescription drug abuse. We know that 
something more must be done from a Federal level, and that's why I've 
introduced H.R. 1925, the Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act. This bill would implement multiple measures essential to 
combating prescription drug abuse, education and training, monitoring, 
evaluation and enforcement, and it provides a good guideline to 
coordinate Federal, State, and local efforts to fight this epidemic.
  The bill establishes mandatory physician and consumer education and 
authorizes Federal funding to help our States create and maintain 
prescription drug monitoring programs that all States can access. It 
would also set up a uniform system for tracking painkiller-related 
deaths, helping States and law enforcement professionals manage and 
report data.
  The West Virginia State Police, our State's attorney general, and 
even physicians have all consistently stressed the need for access to a 
prescription drug monitoring system that is shared between State lines 
and updated in real time.
  I know my colleagues have authored and supported similar bills, like 
H.R. 2119, the Ryan Creedon Act, which also seeks to implement targeted 
physician education on prescription drug abuse and addiction, and H.R. 
1065, the Pill Mill Crackdown Act, which would help further eradicate 
pill mills throughout our Nation. These bills address critical issues 
that ought to be part of this Congress' effort to craft legislation to 
assist our States and communities in combating prescription drug abuse.
  The toll of destruction and devastation heaped upon America's 
families and our economy by this epidemic demands that U.S. Congress 
must act, and act swiftly. So I urge my colleagues to move forward and 
bring legislation to the floor that will enable our communities to 
fight back against prescription drug abuse.
  Let us act with dispatch and compassion and with an acute 
understanding of the enormity of the challenge before us. The future of 
our families and children and the entire health and well-being of local 
communities and our Nation depend on us.

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