[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 112 (Tuesday, July 12, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H4667]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING THE LIFE OF NICHOLAS ``CORKY'' DeMARCO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from West 
Virginia (Mr. Mooney) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, on Friday afternoon, I was 
deeply saddened to hear about the passing of one of West Virginia's 
finest gentlemen, Nicholas ``Corky'' DeMarco.
  A lifelong West Virginian, Corky was a leader in our State, in both 
private and public service. For those of you who did not have the 
privilege of knowing him, let me tell you a little bit about him.
  I got to know Corky through our discussions about how West Virginia 
can benefit from our natural bounty. Under Governor Cecil Underwood, 
Corky served as the director of operations for the State and helped 
bring more jobs and industries to West Virginia.
  Most recently, Corky served as the executive director of the West 
Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association. During his time with the 
association, he more than tripled their membership and made significant 
contributions to the oil and gas industry in West Virginia.
  His devotion to growing jobs in our State was strong, but his love 
for family came before anything else. For Corky, the most important 
thing in life was his family: his wife, Catherine; two grown sons, 
Matthew and Joey; and his stepson, Jason Milano.
  I join all West Virginians in keeping Mr. DeMarco's family in our 
thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Corky will be truly 
missed.


                            Opioid Addiction

  Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, overuse of prescription 
pain medication is one of the leading causes of opioid addiction. When 
a patient has more narcotic pain medication than they need after a 
medical event, this excess medication can fall into the wrong hands.
  Narcotic pain medication in the wrong hands often leads to addiction. 
In fact, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has found that 1 in 15 
people who take nonmedical prescription pain relievers will try heroin.
  Last year, the number of fatal overdoses from prescription 
painkillers increased by 16 percent--and 28 percent from heroin--in the 
United States. In West Virginia, the story is even worse. According to 
a recent study by the Trust for America's Health, the Mountain State 
has the highest rate of overdose deaths in the entire United States.
  This issue is above party politics. It is a plague that all Americans 
must come together to solve. That is why, in February, I introduced 
H.R. 4499, the Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act. This 
bipartisan bill strikes a harmful provision of ObamaCare that places 
unnecessary pressure on doctors and hospitals to prescribe narcotic 
pain medication.
  This concern was brought to my attention while meeting with doctors 
and other healthcare professionals in Charleston, West Virginia, who 
are active in our State's medical society. I thank them for bringing 
this to my attention. It is a perfect example of how government works 
well. You bring an issue to your Congressman's attention, and he takes 
action to solve it.
  This was their idea. I thank them for bringing it to our attention. I 
encourage everyone to bring the ideas you have to help fight back 
against the opioid epidemic to your local Congressman.
  I am proud to say that, less than a week ago, the Department of 
Health and Human Services announced they are implementing the important 
policy changes contained in my bill. Almost word for word, the new 
rules are exactly what my bill says need to be done.
  Since I first introduced the PROP Act in February, I have been 
calling on Congress to pass my bill. This bipartisan legislation has 27 
Republican cosponsors and 16 Democratic cosponsors. My bill puts 
doctors, not the Federal Government, in control of opioid-prescribing 
decisions. This change in policy is an important fight against opioid 
abuse.
  I want to thank the 43 cosponsors in the House and the 8 cosponsors 
in the Senate in our successful effort to pass this bill's policies 
through regulation and help put an end to opioid abuse.

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