[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 12, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H5066-H5067]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      EMPOWERING PHARMACISTS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST OPIOID ABUSE ACT

  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4275) to provide for the development and dissemination of 
programs and materials for training pharmacists, health care providers, 
and patients on indicators that a prescription is fraudulent, forged, 
or otherwise indicative of abuse or diversion, and for other purposes, 
as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows

                               H.R. 4275

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Empowering Pharmacists in 
     the Fight Against Opioid Abuse Act''.

     SEC. 2. PROGRAMS AND MATERIALS FOR TRAINING ON CERTAIN 
                   CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH A PHARMACIST MAY 
                   DECLINE TO FILL A PRESCRIPTION.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services, in consultation with the Administrator of the Drug 
     Enforcement Administration, the Commissioner of Food and 
     Drugs, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention, and the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and 
     Substance Use, shall develop and disseminate programs and 
     materials for training pharmacists, health care providers, 
     and patients on--
       (1) circumstances under which a pharmacist may, consistent 
     with section 201 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 
     811) and regulations thereunder, including section 1306.04 of 
     title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, decline to fill a 
     prescription for a controlled substance because the 
     pharmacist suspects the prescription is fraudulent, forged, 
     or otherwise indicative of abuse or diversion; and
       (2) any Federal requirements pertaining to declining to 
     fill a prescription under such circumstances.
       (b) Materials Included.--In developing materials under 
     subsection (a), the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
     shall include information educating--
       (1) pharmacists on how to decline to fill a prescription 
     and actions to take after declining to fill a prescription; 
     and
       (2) other health care practitioners and the public on a 
     pharmacist's responsibility to decline to fill prescriptions 
     in certain circumstances.
       (c) Stakeholder Input.--In developing the programs and 
     materials required under subsection (a), the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services shall seek input from relevant 
     national, State, and local associations, boards of pharmacy, 
     medical societies, licensing boards, health care 
     practitioners, and patients.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Walden) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oregon.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous material in the Record on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Oregon?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today is a product of the chairman's 
hard work and that of our colleague from California (Mr. DeSaulnier).
  As the only pharmacist serving in Congress, Mr. Carter understands 
the need to get fraudulent prescriptions off of our streets and give 
folks on the front line additional tools to combat the opioid crisis. 
This is why I know he helped author this bipartisan bill, which will 
require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and 
disseminate education materials for pharmacists to better detect, and 
reject, fraudulent prescriptions.
  While law enforcement plays a key role in detecting and stopping 
fraudulent prescriptions, responsibility ultimately lies with 
pharmacists, who are licensed healthcare professionals. For this 
reason, we amended the bill at the committee level to originate the 
materials at the Department of Health and Human Services as opposed to 
the Justice Department.
  As Mr. Carter has repeatedly said, this bill will complement the 
DEA's existing efforts, like the Diversion Control Division's Pharmacy 
Diversion Awareness Conferences held throughout the country, as well as 
their other meetings, presentations, and seminars.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this legislation, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 4275, legislation 
that would help pharmacists detect fraudulent prescriptions by 
requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to develop 
training materials to provide pharmacists, providers, and patients with 
a greater understanding of the ability and responsibility of 
pharmacists to refuse to fill potentially fraudulent or forged 
prescriptions.
  Pharmacists serve on the front lines of the fight against the opioid 
epidemic. H.R. 4275 would provide pharmacists the tools they need when 
faced with patients suffering from addiction or with other individuals 
interested in abusing or misusing controlled substances. Combatting 
fraudulent or forged prescriptions is one step in helping to prevent 
diversion and reducing the number of opioids available in the supply 
chain.
  Once enacted, HHS would work with the Drug Enforcement 
Administration, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration, and other relevant stakeholders including pharmacists, 
medical societies, licensing boards, health care providers, and 
patients to draft and disseminate materials to inform about the 
circumstances under which a pharmacist may decline to fill a 
prescription and the federal requirements surrounding such a decision. 
In addition, HHS will offer guidance on how to decline to fill a 
prescription and actions to take after doing so.
  This will ensure that all parties understand when and why a 
controlled substance prescription may be declined. H.R. 4275 will 
empower pharmacists to fight back against forged or altered 
prescriptions and help prevent opioids from entering the hands of 
people suffering from addiction or who are at risk of becoming 
addicted.
  I want to thank Representatives DeSaulnier and Carter for their 
leadership on this legislation, which is also supported by the National 
Community Pharmacists Association.
  Addressing our national opioid crisis requires an all-hands-on-deck 
approach, and I am pleased that this legislation recognizes the 
important role pharmacists can play.
  I urge my colleagues to vote in support of H.R. 4275.
  Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. DeSaulnier), the sponsor of the bill, and thank 
him for his work on this important legislation.

[[Page H5067]]

  

  Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Pallone for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to support the Empowering Pharmacists in 
the Fight Against Opioid Abuse Act.
  In 2016, over 53,000 people died of a drug overdose involving an 
opioid. These are more deaths in one year than the total number of 
Americans who died in the entire Vietnam war.
  According to the CDC, on average, 115 people die every day in America 
from an opioid overdose. The United States is facing a clear opioid 
epidemic. We have a little over 4 percent of the world's population, 
but we consume over 80 percent of the opioids in the world.
  There is no simple solution to this growing problem, but the 
Empowering Pharmacists in the Fight Against Opioid Abuse Act is a step 
towards addressing it.
  This bipartisan bill will require the Department of Health and Human 
Services and the DEA to develop materials to increase the amount of 
education done to ensure that pharmacists, physicians, and the public 
understand that pharmacists have both a right and a responsibility to 
deny possibly fraudulent prescriptions.
  Pharmacists are often the last line of defense in the fight against 
drug abuse. Pharmacists are currently allowed to exercise sound 
professional judgment when deciding whether a prescription is 
legitimate and should be filled. This bill would make sure that 
everyone in the prescribing chain, from doctors to pharmacists to 
patients, know what a pharmacist can and should do.
  By empowering pharmacists to the fullest extent, we can help reduce 
the number of opioids on the streets, slow the flow of fraudulent 
prescriptions, and help fight back against one of the causes of this 
epidemic.
  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, Mr. Carter, from Georgia for his 
support and expertise as the only pharmacist serving in Congress, in 
making this bill a reality.
  Additionally, I thank the National Community Pharmacists Association 
for their support, insight and help throughout the process of drafting 
this bill.
  I also thank Chairman Walden and Ranking Member Pallone for their 
support of this legislation.
  Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I am honored to yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), a co-author of this 
legislation, and, as you have heard, our only resident pharmacist. He 
knows this firsthand, and has brought incredible knowledge and skill to 
the legislative process.
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding.
  Madam Speaker, deaths from drug overdoses have risen in nearly every 
county across the United States, with 47,055 Americans being lost each 
year due to overdose, the equivalent of about 115 people every day.
  Pharmacists are the last line of defense in the fight against 
prescription drug abuse.
  Under current law, pharmacists are required to exercise sound 
professional judgment when making a determination about the legitimacy 
of a controlled substance prescription. While the proper prescribing of 
controlled substances is a responsibility of the prescribing 
practitioner, pharmacists have a corresponding responsibility to ensure 
that controlled substances are only dispensed pursuant to a valid 
prescription issued for a legitimate medical purpose by a practitioner 
acting in the usual course of his professional practice.
  Even though pharmacists are not law enforcement officers, they play 
an important role in preventing the use of fraudulent prescriptions at 
the pharmacy counter.
  The Empowering Pharmacists in the Fight Against Opioid Abuse Act 
would require the Department of Health and Human Services, the Drug 
Enforcement Administration, and other Federal agencies responsible for 
combating the opioid epidemic to produce and disseminate materials to 
pharmacists that provide guidance on when and how to refuse to fill a 
prescription that the pharmacist believes to be fraudulent.
  I urge Members to support this commonsense legislation led by my 
colleague across the aisle, Representative DeSaulnier, and myself that 
will help improve the last line of defense against prescription drug 
abuse in our communities.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Barton). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4275, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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