[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 99 (Thursday, June 14, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H5157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                              {time}  1015
                             OPIOID CRISIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Colorado (Mr. Tipton) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, with the opioid and heroin crisis, the 
American people are currently facing one of the worst drug epidemics in 
our Nation's history. My State of Colorado is certainly not immune.
  In my travels throughout the Third Congressional District, from 
Pueblo to Moffat County, up and down the west slope, through the San 
Luis Valley, I hear of more lives lost with each passing year. Opioid 
addiction knows no bounds, and even the most innocent have been 
affected.
  This last year, when I toured Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo, 
Colorado, and visited the unit that treats babies who are born with 
neonatal abstinence syndrome, which means that they were exposed to 
opiates before they were born and suffer withdrawal at the moment of 
birth, you see a truly heartbreaking situation. To see the most 
vulnerable suffering from withdrawal symptoms is something that touches 
the heart of every American. But it also served as a reminder that we 
must be more aggressive and more inventive in our efforts to be able to 
end this epidemic.
  Opioid abuse is multifaceted, and there is not just one solution that 
will solve this problem. That is why I have held more than 30 opioid 
roundtables in various communities throughout my district, to be able 
to hear from healthcare providers, law enforcement officers, and first 
responders on the front lines of the fight against addiction; to learn 
how the Federal Government can play a better role in supporting those 
efforts.
  In these roundtables, I have learned that opioid abuse often begins 
in the last place that you would expect it to: the doctor's office or a 
hospital emergency room. For example, a person who sprained their ankle 
while skiing may go to their doctor to be receiving pain medication for 
their injury. This medication may provide relief from the pain, but it 
can also provide an intense sense of euphoria. From there, there is the 
possibility that an addiction is born.
  According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, of those who began 
using opioids in the 2000s, a whopping 75 percent reported that their 
first opioid was a prescription drug.
  Colorado has the 12th highest rate of abuse of prescription opioids 
across the Nation. In response to the rising number of Coloradans 
becoming addicted through prescribed opioids, the Colorado Hospital 
Association launched a pilot program in 10 hospital emergency 
departments across the State with the goal of reducing prescribed 
opioids by 15 percent. This program was so successful that it actually 
achieved a 36 percent reduction.
  I am glad that, this week, the House passed a series of more than 20 
bills in a bipartisan effort to curb opioid addiction. Included in this 
series was the bill I was proud to help introduce called the 
Alternatives to Opioids in the Emergency Department Act. This bill 
would allow programs similar to the one in Colorado to be tested in 
hospital emergency departments across the Nation, helping to ensure 
that people who do not need opioids are never exposed to them in the 
first place.
  Mr. Speaker, I stand here proud of the collective work accomplished 
in the House this week, but recognizing that this crisis will not be 
solved overnight, and we still have a long road ahead. It is not an 
issue that is going to be solved solely by the Federal Government. It 
is going to take a collaborative effort with our States, our local 
governments, and our families as well in addressing this problem.
  We must continue to work together to end the stigma surrounding 
opioid abuse and find innovative solutions that will end this crisis 
for good.

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