[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 18, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H3432-H3436]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
OPIOID EPIDEMIC
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Garrett). Under the Speaker's announced
policy of January 3, 2017, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, the opioid epidemic has swept across the
country impacting millions of Americans who lost loved ones to this
preventable crisis. No community is immune.
Just as the President of the United States has said, this is, in
fact, the crisis next door.
This is even more true in neighborhoods in north Texas where we are
all too familiar with this fatal epidemic.
Overdose deaths from opioids have increased more than five times in
the last 30 years, and it is estimated that more than 115 Americans die
each and every day from opiate-related overdoses. There is no question
that we must act to stop this crisis.
To that end, I am very grateful to the members of my committee, the
Committee on Energy and Commerce. I am grateful to the chairman of the
committee for participating in this hour.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden), who
is the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Dr. Burgess and appreciate his
leadership on this issue and the hard work he and his members on both
sides of the aisle have done on the Subcommittee on Health in the
Energy and Commerce Committee.
As we all know, the opioid crisis is wreaking havoc and death on our
Nation. It is striking at the heart of communities from one side of the
country to the other. On any given day, you can browse the headlines to
learn of yet another life lost to addiction or about a raid that seized
overwhelming quantities of prescription painkillers or illicit drugs.
At roundtables throughout my district in Oregon over the last few
years, I have met with those victims. I have met with their families. I
have talked to doctors and treatment advocates. I have met with law
enforcement officers on the front lines of this fight. Sadly, their
stories are all too similar and all too familiar, but they put the
names and faces to this crisis that has touched every community in our
country.
We are here tonight because this crisis is having a devastating
impact on each of our districts and the people who live in them. No
community is exempt from the scourge of addiction. Nobody is immune
from the dangers of powerful drugs. The crisis has taken a hold on the
very fabric of our Nation, and we must do everything we can to stem the
tide of addiction, to help those who are addicted, and to stop the
deaths and destruction that follow the abuse of opiates.
Earlier this week, I visited the Prescribed to Death opioid memorial
that was stationed at the White House Ellipse. I was able to see the
individual faces of Americans who lost their own battles with opioid
addiction etched into the 22,000 pills on display. There was one for
each fatal overdose in 2015.
{time} 1830
It is a daunting visual. It was made only more poignant by the
knowledge that those numbers have only continued to climb.
More than 100 Americans die from opioid overdoses every single day,
claiming the lives of more than 42,000 Americans who died in 2016
alone. That same year, we lost 506 Oregonians from opioid overdoses.
The committee--in particular, the Energy and Commerce Committee and
your subcommittee, Mr. Chairman--has a long history of working to
combat this evolving epidemic, from launching our earliest
investigations in 2012 to advancing bipartisan legislation like the
Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, CARA, and the 21st Century
Cures Act.
Most recently, we included critical funding to aid in the fight in
the recent government spending bill that President Trump signed into
law. This legislation included a record amount of resources to combat
the crisis, providing billions of dollars to communities across America
to tackle one of the biggest public health problems in a generation.
But we know that more can and must be done.
Now, the good news is that combating the opioid crisis is our
committee's top priority. It is why we have reviewed literally dozens
and dozens and dozens of comprehensive, bold, and bipartisan pieces of
legislation. In total, these bills will bolster our enforcement
efforts, will protect our communities, will advance our public health
and prevention efforts, and will address coverage and payment issues
within Medicaid and Medicare.
Tomorrow at the Energy and Commerce Committee, we will hear the
personal stories from families affected by the drug crisis and
individuals who are battling addiction. Then, next week, the Energy and
Commerce Committee will mark these bills up in our Health Subcommittee.
It is an important step forward to keep us on track in our goal of
having legislation to this House floor ahead of the Memorial Day
district work period.
We know that there is no silver bullet, there is no one-size-fits-all
approach that will remedy the catastrophic effects of this crisis that
has been building for the last decade, but much more can be done. We
will do much more, and we will do it on a bipartisan basis, to help
vulnerable patients get the treatment they want and need, remembering
there are some 20 million Americans with chronic pain. And we will
ensure these powerful drugs are not getting into the wrong hands.
As I conclude, I think it is important to point out that, if people
want more information, they can go to energycommerce.house.gov/opioids
and see the testimony that we have received and the work that we are
engaged in to rid this country of this terrible scourge and make our
communities safer again.
[[Page H3433]]
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the full committee
for his participation in this hour tonight.
The chairman is correct; our committee has a history of working in a
bipartisan fashion. This, obviously, is an illness that can strike
regardless of political party or political persuasion; and in the
interest of that theme, I am happy to yield to the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Gene Green), my counterpart, the ranking member on the Democratic
side of the dais in the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Health
Subcommittee.
Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair of our Health
Subcommittee for organizing this Special Order tonight because it is so
important to our country.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring attention to the countless Americans
suffering from opioid addiction in Houston and Harris County, Texas,
whom I represent, and throughout our great country. I call on Congress
and the Trump administration to take immediate action to help our
fellow Americans in need.
The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that over 2
million Americans suffer from opioid use disorder and millions more
misuse their legally prescribed opioids. Most troubling are the 42,000
Americans who died from opioid-related overdoses in 2016 alone,
including over 2,800 victims of opioid addiction in Texas.
The economic burden of prescription opioid misuse in our country is
estimated to cost over $78 billion a year, including the cost of
healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and the criminal
justice system. We must do more to turn the tide against the opioid
epidemic and give Americans the tools to overcome addiction and rebuild
their lives.
In the past 2 years, Congress has made a concerted effort to help
Americans and prevent abuse from happening in the first place. In 2016,
the Committee on Energy and Commerce wrote and passed the Comprehensive
Addiction and Recovery Act, or CARA, the first major Federal addiction
legislation in 40 years, the most comprehensive effort to address the
opioid crisis.
I supported CARA when it was considered by our committee and am proud
of our results, a law that provides over $180 million annually to our
State and local partners to help support prevention, recovery, overdose
reversal, law enforcement, and criminal justice reform.
The Health Subcommittee, on which I am proud to serve as ranking
member, is currently holding a series of hearings on opioids. Last
month, I introduced, with Congressman Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, the
Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers Act, H.R. 5237. This legislation
would fund designated treatment centers where individuals will receive
comprehensive, patient-centered care for opioid addiction and other
substance abuse disorders. It is our intention to build model practices
for treatment and recovery that can be duplicated nationwide.
I am also working on legislation that would clarify the Food and Drug
Administration authority to consider potential for misuse and abuse
when assessing risks and benefits of controlled substances for
approval. Our expert agencies must have clear authority to consider the
potential harm of medical therapies and protect Americans if the harm
outweighs the benefits.
Federal programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and coverage through the
Affordable Care Act are critical in ensuring Americans struggling with
opioid abuse have access to treatment and recovery. The Kaiser Family
Foundation reported in February that nearly 4 in 10 adults under the
age of 65 with an opioid addiction received their coverage through
Medicaid. Any honest effort by Congress to address the opioid epidemic
must include measures to stabilize and strengthen health exchanges and
make coverage accessible for Americans who currently do not have health
insurance, including the 3 million Americans who lost their insurance
last year.
I ask for the Energy and Commerce Committee to come together and
agree on a package of bills that will affirmatively help Americans
struggling with opioid abuse and prevent abuse from happening. The
American people deserve nothing less.
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his participation
this evening.
Again, the problem is not likely to be solved by one political party
or the other. It is going to require a collaborative approach. Opioid
abuse can happen by access to dangerous drugs in a family member's
medicine cabinet or by obtaining them illegally. The fight against this
crisis is indeed a team effort, and we must evaluate it from all
angles.
We must consider how opiate medications are produced and distributed,
and we must look at how agencies track and respond to distribution
discrepancies. We are required to take a hard look at how the
medications are prescribed and dispensed, while addressing the disposal
of unused medication. We need to look at the treatment for those who
suffer from addictions and the future of pain medications.
It is also imperative that we address the access and enforcement of
illicit drugs. We must work to stop the unfettered distribution of
harmful drugs that flow into this country from outside our borders.
Earlier this year, I joined the Commissioner of the Food and Drug
Administration, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, in visiting the international mail
facility at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. This facility is one
of nine in our country and acts as a barrier for these illicit and
dangerous drugs being sent to America through the international mail.
The Food and Drug Administration and the United States Customs and
Border Patrol, together, work to identify and destroy dangerous
substances hidden in pieces of mail, but more authority is needed to
provide these agencies with tools to swiftly act and act more
efficiently.
There are millions of suspicious packages full of illicit drugs and
other contraband crossing our borders. Sometimes the FDA is powerless
in its ability to destroy these harmful and illicit substances,
sometimes they are required to send them back to the sender, and
sometimes they will see a package recycled and brought back into this
country for yet another try. That, Mr. Speaker, must end.
Now, as chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, I have already held
three hearings and considered a total of 67 related opiate bills. Last
October, we opened the doors of the subcommittee to any Member, not
just of the subcommittee, not just of the full committee, but any
Member of Congress who wanted to come and talk to us about problems
they have seen in their district related to opiates, solutions that
they may be considering or people in their communities might have asked
them to consider.
We heard from well over 50 Members of Congress that day, and as a
consequence of that Member involvement, we have distilled these 67
pieces of legislation. We have had three legislative hearings. We have
heard from key members of the administration. We have heard from
stakeholders who are at the forefront of our efforts to stem this
epidemic.
We have evaluated this crisis from all fronts, from public health and
prevention and intervention, law enforcement, education and recovery,
and then finally, lastly, looking at the Medicaid and Medicare programs
and the role that they may play. It is evident that this is a
multifaceted problem and will require an all-hands-on-deck approach.
As a physician, I also understand and respect the importance of
successfully treating and managing patients with chronic pain. One of
the reasons that most of us went into the practice of medicine was to
be of service. One of the highest callings is to ask to be worthy to
serve the suffering. Opiates are an essential tool. We must respect the
fatal and addictive properties that opiates possess, while also
understanding the vital role that these medications play in the lives
of individuals who are suffering from serious or chronic illness, such
as cancer.
As we evaluate this complex issue, we must strike the right balance
between necessary enforcement and patient safety. Unfortunately, there
is no easy answer and there is no single party to blame.
We also know that Congress cannot fight this battle alone. We must
all work to strengthen our commitment to overcome this scourge. With an
average of more than 100 Americans dying
[[Page H3434]]
every day from opiate overdoses, we must be willing to ask hard
questions and consider solutions.
At this time, I am pleased to yield to the gentleman from Mississippi
(Mr. Harper), who is a member of the Health Subcommittee and also the
chairman of the Energy Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and
has led a number of our efforts in trying to control the opiate crisis.
Mr. Harper, thank you for joining us tonight.
Mr. HARPER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for organizing this
time on the floor today to focus on the opioid crisis in our country.
For many years, telehealth has been a priority for me as a critical
way to deliver healthcare services to patients across the country.
Through my work as chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and
Investigations, I now view telehealth as an important part of the
solution to the opioid crisis, as it increases patient access to needed
treatments and improves outcomes through the availability of better
healthcare services to more patients.
Congresswoman Matsui of California and I have been working on
drafting a bill to increase access to substance use treatment through
the use of telehealth in community mental health centers. Each year,
64,000 Americans die from overdose. In rural, underserved States like
my home State of Mississippi, this threat is especially concerning, as
patients often lack access to addiction and psychiatric healthcare
providers equipped to provide needed treatments.
The concerns are great; therefore, Congresswoman Matsui and I have
been working to draft legislation that would enable local facilities to
register with the Drug Enforcement Administration and be able to use
telemedicine to prescribe appropriate treatments for patients in need.
Mississippi has been recognized as a leader in using telehealth to
reach patients who otherwise would not have access to care. The
University of Mississippi Medical Center's Center for Telehealth was
selected as a national Telehealth Center of Excellence by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services to innovate and test new
delivery models for telehealth.
With leaders like the University of Mississippi Medical Center
working to maximize available resources and provide care via
telehealth, I believe that this technology offers a promising solution
to combating the opioid crisis in our country. I look forward to
continuing to work with my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce
Committee to advance these efforts.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Walden and Chairman Burgess--and many
others, of course--for their dedication to this issue. I appreciate the
opportunity to speak.
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Mississippi for
participating in our Special Order tonight. I thank him for his
leadership in the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and the
work that he has done to help control this crisis.
I now yield to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie), vice
chairman of the Health Subcommittee, for his observations.
{time} 1845
Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the subcommittee
for organizing this event.
On behalf of the 1,419 Kentuckians who died of an opioid overdose in
2016, and the countless more who are currently suffering from opioid
addiction, I rise today in support of legislation to combat our
Nation's opioid epidemic.
Everywhere I go in Kentucky's Second District, I hear from people who
have felt the impact of the opioid crisis. The range of people falling
victim to opioid use disorder is vast--from babies born with opioid
withdrawal, to adults of all ages and backgrounds, even students,
brothers and sisters, moms and dads. It doesn't matter if someone
becomes addicted to opioids after they have sprained an ankle or
following major surgery--anyone who has been prescribed opioid
painkillers could be at risk, and we need to find a way to help the
thousands of people who have, in fact, become addicted.
I recently introduced two pieces of legislation to combat our
widespread opioid crisis. The first is the Comprehensive Opioid
Recovery Centers Act of 2018. I was proud to introduce this bipartisan
bill with the Health Subcommittee ranking member, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Gene Green), the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon), and
the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Ben Ray Lujan).
This bill addresses the current lack of comprehensive treatment
options available to opioid use disorder patients. Currently, there is
a wide range of treatment options from faith-based abstinence programs
to FDA-approved medications, but not everyone has access to the
specific treatments they need.
Patients usually seek treatment from a facility convenient to them in
their own community or from a facility that is covered by their
insurance. However, most facilities only offer a single type of
treatment, which may or may not work for each individual patient. The
Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers Act would provide grant money to
help create treatment centers where every FDA-approved option is
available to each patient.
These centers would also include intake services and help with
reentering the community and provide data to the Department of Health
and Human Services so that other treatment centers can learn and apply
best practices to provide more patients with comprehensive care.
I also introduced the bipartisan Maternal Opioid Treatment, Health,
Education, and Recovery Act, known as the MOTHER Act, with Congressman
Ben Ray Lujan. Opioid addiction is a serious risk to anyone's health,
but it can even be more harmful and life-threatening for a pregnant
woman and her child. This bill would help healthcare providers better
treat pregnant women with opioid use disorder as well as babies who are
born experiencing opioid withdrawal.
The MOTHER Act increases education about neonatal abstinence
syndrome, which sadly affects babies whose mothers suffer from opioid
use disorder, and the bill also provides resources for pregnant mothers
and caregivers. It highlights the need for responsible pain management
for expectant mothers.
Our Nation is in the middle of combating a serious opioid epidemic,
and all of us on both sides of the aisle can agree on the need to act
with urgency on all fronts. I was proud to join with my Democratic
colleagues to introduce two bipartisan bills that would address
important aspects of the opioid crisis. I urge my colleagues to support
the Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers Act and the MOTHER Act. I
thank the subcommittee chairman for organizing this.
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for his
participation this evening.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr.
McKinley), the vice chairman of the Environment Subcommittee.
Mr. McKINLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Burgess for organizing
this Special Order event.
Mr. Speaker, the United States represents only 5 percent of the
global population, yet we consume over 80 percent of the opioids
produced around the world. Shouldn't that have raised a red flag?
Since 2011, our office has conducted over 50 roundtable meetings with
doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and law enforcement, listening and
learning from professionals how we could best address this problem.
Congress has acted. As you heard a minute ago, the 21st Century Cures
Act and CARA were good first steps, but it is evident that more work
needs to be done.
Last month, under President Trump and the Republican Congress
leadership, we secured an additional $4 billion in funding, the largest
investment ever in this crisis. We have made progress in other areas.
In the book, ``American Pain'' by John Temple, he cites an ever-
increasing production quota as a contributing factor to this drug
opioid abuse. Even as it became clear that the opioid abuse was a
growing problem, our producers in pharmaceuticals were producing more
and more pain medicine. Fortunately, yesterday, the DEA, under the
leadership of President Trump, announced that they would finally begin
limiting the number of pills being produced.
I also had the honor of working with the White House on the Opioid
Task
[[Page H3435]]
Force; and thanks to Chairman Walden, the Energy and Commerce Committee
has made fighting the opioid crisis a top priority. You heard his
comments when he said that.
Our committee has been crafting another comprehensive opioid package
aimed at treatment, prevention, education, and enforcement. Over the
past few weeks, the committee has reviewed numerous bills, and I am
proud to say--and I thank Chairman Burgess--that two of those bills are
pieces that our office has crafted.
Now, as for the role of pharmacies. Currently, each State maintains
its own database on prescriptions, but that information isn't always
typically shared with neighboring States. So the committee is taking
under consideration a nationwide prescription drug monitoring program,
which would prevent people from abusing the system by filling their
prescription in multiple States.
Congress needs to shut down these illicit, illegal pharmaceutical
drug sales on social media, just as the Commissioner of the FDA made a
strong recommendation just 2 weeks ago.
And, lastly, it is time to tighten our border security to stop the
flow of drugs into our country. Hancock County, West Virginia Sheriff
Ralph Fletcher has made it clear that the spike in heroin overdoses is
directly attributable to this poison pouring across our southern border
from Mexico.
And as Mike Burgess just noted a minute ago, the postal service
system needs to be enhancing their monitoring program to halt this
importation of fentanyl from China.
But through all this, shouldn't we be exploring the root cause of why
people are turning to dangerous drugs? West Virginia, unfortunately,
leads the Nation in virtually every statistic when it comes to opioids.
Some have attributed it to our State's high unemployment, low household
income, and low education levels.
But who is second? Until last year, New Hampshire was second. They
have the highest level of employment. They have one of the highest
levels of household income and one of the highest levels of degree of
household education. So, clearly, it is simply not a socioeconomic
issue. Something else is driving this epidemic, and we need to get to
the root cause of it. There is plenty of blame to go around, and we
need to hold people accountable.
Our committee has been accomplishing this through an investigation of
the pill dumping that has occurred in West Virginia. On May 8, as you
heard a minute ago, we are going to be holding another hearing with our
CEOs from the Nation's largest drug distributors who have been shipping
tens of millions of pills into small communities across West Virginia.
What we hope to learn is why. Why would you dump millions of pills into
small rural communities? Have you no shame?
Look, this is a multifaceted problem. While there is still a lot more
work to be done, Congress has been taking a number of steps to
eradicate this scourge of the opioid epidemic.
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from West Virginia
for his comments.
Mr. Speaker, now I am pleased to yield to the gentleman from Michigan
(Mr. Walberg).
Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his good work in
organizing this Special Order this evening.
The tragic opioid epidemic has, unfortunately, become a major part of
our national conversation, and that is what brings us here tonight, to
raise awareness and continue our push for bipartisan solutions.
I am grateful for Chairman Walden's and Chairman Burgess' leadership
and the work of my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee
doing a lot of work to tackle this public health crisis head on.
Too many Americans from all walks of life and from all parts of the
country are facing the terrifying realities of the opioid crisis. It is
a deeply personal and painful issue for many of our friends and loved
ones.
I recently held a number of community forums in my district to
collaborate with local leaders and hear from families whose lives had
been swept up by the opioid epidemic. At one of those events, I joined
with my good friend, a very successful electrical contractor, Mike
Hirst, to speak with students at Jackson High School about the dangers
of drug addiction.
In 2010, Mike's son, Andy, died of a heroin overdose at the age of
24. This tragic loss has led Mike to dedicate himself to sharing the
experience of his son's death and helping educate the community. Mike
started a foundation in honor of his son and called it Andy's Angels,
where he has counseled addicts, supported families, mentored at-risk
youth, and more. People like Mike are making a real difference, and I
am committed to ensuring that the Federal Government is a strong
partner in this fight.
Thanks to this committee's leadership, we took significant strides
last Congress with the 21st Century Cures Act and the Comprehensive
Addiction and Recovery Act, but we need to redouble our efforts.
One example is Jessie's Law, which is a bipartisan bill I introduced
along with my friend and colleague, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell. It is
named after Jessie Grubb, who tragically died of an opioid overdose in
Michigan in 2016.
Jessie was a recovering addict doing very well, who was unknowingly
discharged after a surgery from the hospital with a prescription for
oxycodone that ultimately led to her death. It is a heartbreaking and
entirely preventable story, and it is why we need to pass Jessie's Law
so medical professionals are equipped to safely treat their patients,
prevent overdose tragedies, and ultimately save lives.
I am working with Congresswoman Dingell as well on another bipartisan
bill, the Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act. Our legislation will
help prevent the misuse or diversion of unused medications by equipping
hospice professionals with the legal authority to safely dispose of
unused drugs after a hospice patient's death. Many patients receiving
hospice care need painkillers to help with end-of-life pain, but any
leftover medications can, unfortunately, end up in the wrong hands, and
we need to stop that from happening.
The committee has made addressing the opioid epidemic a top priority,
and these are just two of many legislative solutions that we will hear
tonight. This is an urgent crisis, and I stand ready to continue
working together to advance a bipartisan and comprehensive response,
and I thank the leadership for taking this on. There is not a moment to
waste.
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his participation
this evening. He brings some valuable insights, and I am always
grateful to hear his perspective from the State of Michigan.
I now go way out West to California. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the
gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Mimi Walters) for her thoughts on the
crisis.
Mrs. MIMI WALTERS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my
colleagues in our effort to raise awareness for the growing opioid
epidemic in America, particularly in the State of California.
In 2016, nearly 5,000 Californians died of opioid overdoses.
Astonishingly, the year before, 122 million prescription opioid pills
were dispensed in Orange County.
Mr. Speaker, we cannot allow this cycle of opioid abuse and death to
continue, which is why Congress must work together to end the epidemic.
I proudly supported recently enacted legislation that provides $4
billion of prevention, treatment, and law enforcement programs that
help address this growing crisis.
Ending the opioid epidemic starts at home. On April 28, National
Prescription Drug Take Back Day gives Americans the opportunity to
safely dispose of their excess prescription drugs, including opioids.
This effort can reduce the possibility that these pills will find their
way onto our streets.
There is still work to be done, but I am confident that together we
can end the opioid crisis in this country.
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her
participation in this evening's Special Order hour.
Mr. Speaker, it is now my great privilege to yield to the gentleman
from Virginia (Mr. Griffith), the vice chairman of the Subcommittee on
Oversight and Investigations in the Energy and Commerce Committee,
certainly one of the most thoughtful Members of this body.
[[Page H3436]]
{time} 1900
Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate all of the work that Chairman
Burgess has done on this issue. It is important that he has highlighted
it and made it one of the priorities of our committee--not only our
subcommittee, but our full committee.
Earlier this evening, we heard from Representatives from Kentucky and
from West Virginia. When you look at the map, you will see that my
congressional district, the Ninth District of Virginia, touches West
Virginia, touches Kentucky, and touches North Carolina. What this means
to all of us is this--and it touches Tennessee, of course. It means
that, if you really worked at it, in my district, you could get to
various doctors and various pharmacists in just a couple of days.
In that small corner of Virginia, you can travel into other States.
You can hit five States in a single day. This is why I have been
working on some language for prescription drug monitoring, where the
States will be encouraged to work together to try to make sure that we
are sharing information. All of the States--or most of the States now--
have such a program, but they don't always have the language down the
same way.
What we have to do as one of a dozen, two dozen, or three dozen
things that we are looking at in trying to help resolve this opioid
crisis is that we need to make sure that we have people looking at it
and making sure that those folks who are addicted and are trying to get
prescriptions from different doctors and using different pharmacies are
not able to do so, to make sure that our programs are working together.
It is very important that we continue to work.
While I say that it is important, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate so much
that Chairman Burgess is holding a roundtable tomorrow as part of our
Health Subcommittee that will be bipartisan, where we are bringing in
families from around the country who have suffered a loss, who have a
loved one who has died. And while we are not taking any votes on the
floor tomorrow, the Health Subcommittee will be meeting because this is
just too important to leave Washington without hearing from these
important voices, from these people who can bring to us real-life
stories.
We have all heard them in our communities. We have all probably had
family members who have been touched by it. But to hear from these
families tomorrow, I think, is going to be very special and very
poignant, and I appreciate it. I think that we all have something that
we can learn.
And then, Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk about pill dumping,
because we do have to take a look. We have a hearing coming up with
some of the pharmacies that manufacture these opioids.
But we know that in West Virginia, they were dropping millions of
pills into communities there--into Williamson, into Kermit, and into
Mount Gay-Shamrock. As a result of that, those drugs not only went into
West Virginia, but some of those pharmacies that were shut down
eventually by the DEA were just a few miles--32 miles, 34 miles--from
my district and from districts in Kentucky.
We need to find out: Why were they allowing this to happen? Why were
they perhaps encouraging it to happen? We don't know the answers yet,
but we are going to have a hearing on that. The Oversight and
Investigations Subcommittee is looking into that matter, as well, and
has already got lots of information.
We are looking at what was going on in the DEA and why they didn't
use their power of an immediate suspension order. When they had the
authority to do so, Mr. Speaker, it was shocking to discover that they
chose, instead, to come up with a trial standard.
As opposed to a standard to stop something bad from happening
immediately, they chose to have a trial standard, to have all the proof
already wrapped up with a nice bow on it. As a part of that, we ended
up with a lot of drug stores that continue to use a cash business for
operating. Even though the DEA knew there were problems, they wanted to
have expert witnesses come in in advance.
This is not acceptable. We are working with the DEA to stop that
procedure and to make sure that, if there are any changes in the law
that are necessary to give them more tools, they can shut down somebody
quickly when they see a pattern of abuse.
Mr. Speaker, the Energy and Commerce Committee is working hard on all
of these issues, and, particularly, we are working to make sure that we
give the various agencies and the States the authority to help shut
down this horrible, treacherous, and dangerous opioid crisis in these
United States.
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his
participation.
As the gentleman was talking about, the fact that in his State and
the surrounding States it is possible that, if there is not
collaboration between State prescription monitoring programs, a doctor
or a pharmacist would never know what other prescriptions might have
been written for a patient.
Our committee actually has a history of working on this. Charlie
Norwood, a Member of Congress from Georgia, 15 years ago came up with
the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act, or
NASPER. We have authorized NASPER several times. I am happy to say
that, this year, in the omnibus bill, there actually was funding, for
the first time, provided for the NASPER program. It is just a
beginning.
Clearly, the need for this national reporting program is so critical.
In a State like Texas, we are huge, where we don't even think about
other States in Texas. But the crossing of State lines with this
information can be extremely powerful and, in fact, it can be
lifesaving.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for bringing that up, and I thank
him for the work that he is doing on the Oversight and Investigations
Subcommittee, and I thank him for the work he is doing on the
prevention of pill dumping.
Mr. Speaker, the fact that the opioid crisis is devastating our
country and undermining our social structures and eroding our economic
productivity is, every day, more and more tragic. But the good news,
Mr. Speaker, is the current trends can be reversed. We are building on
years of previous bipartisan efforts. We all know that our action is
important to the families, to the communities, to our constituents, and
to the patients impacted by the opioid epidemic.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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