[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 206 (Tuesday, November 30, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H6691-H6693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              OPIOID PRESCRIPTION VERIFICATION ACT OF 2021

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2355) to facilitate responsible, informed dispensing of 
controlled substances and other prescribed medications, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2355

       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 ``Opioid Prescription 
     Verification Act of 2021''.

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

       (a) Updates to Materials.--Section 3212(a) of the SUPPORT 
     for Patients and Communities Act (21 U.S.C. 829 note) is 
     amended by striking ``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, Commissioner of Food and Drugs, 
     Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
     and Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, 
     shall develop and disseminate'' and inserting ``The Secretary 
     of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the 
     Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, 
     Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Director of the Centers for 
     Disease Control and Prevention, and Assistant Secretary for 
     Mental Health and Substance Use, shall develop and 
     disseminate not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
     of this Act, and update periodically thereafter''.
       (b) Materials Included.--Section 3212(b) of the SUPPORT for 
     Patients and Communities Act (21 U.S.C. 829 note) is 
     amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs 
     (2) and (3), respectively; and
       (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 
     the following new paragraph:
       ``(1) pharmacists on how to verify the identity of the 
     patient;''.
       (c) Materials for Training on Patient Verification .--
     Section 3212 of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act 
     (21 U.S.C. 829 note) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subsection:
       ``(d) Materials for Training on Verification of Identity.--
     Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
     subsection, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, after 
     seeking stakeholder input in accordance with subsection (c), 
     shall--
       ``(1) update the materials developed under subsection (a) 
     to include information for pharmacists on how to verify the 
     identity the patient; and
       ``(2) disseminate, as appropriate, the updated 
     materials.''.

     SEC. 3. INCENTIVIZING STATES TO FACILITATE RESPONSIBLE, 
                   INFORMED DISPENSING OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES.

       (a) In General.--Section 392A of the Public Health Service 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 280b-1) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections 
     (d) and (e), respectively; and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(c) Preference.--In determining the amounts of grants 
     awarded to States under subsections (a) and (b), the Director 
     of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may give 
     preference to States in accordance with such criteria as the 
     Director may specify and may choose to give preference to 
     States that--
       ``(1) maintain a prescription drug monitoring program;
       ``(2) require prescribers of controlled substances in 
     schedule II, III, or IV to issue such prescriptions 
     electronically, and make such requirement subject to 
     exceptions in the cases listed in section 1860D-4(e)(7)(B) of 
     the Social Security Act; and
       ``(3) require dispensers of such controlled substances to 
     enter certain information about the purchase of such 
     controlled substances into the respective State's 
     prescription drug monitoring program, including--
       ``(A) the National Drug Code or, in the case of compounded 
     medications, compound identifier;
       ``(B) the quantity dispensed;
       ``(C) the patient identifier; and
       ``(D) the date filled.''.
       (b) Definitions.--Subsection (d) of section 392A of the 
     Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280b-1), as redesignated 
     by subsection (a)(1), is amended to read as follows:
       ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Controlled substance.--The term `controlled 
     substance' has the meaning given that term in section 102 of 
     the Controlled Substances Act.
       ``(2) Dispenser.--The term `dispenser' means a physician, 
     pharmacist, or other person that dispenses a controlled 
     substance to an ultimate user.
       ``(3) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian tribe' has the 
     meaning given that term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
     Determination and Education Assistance Act.''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 2355.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in April of this year, the Energy and Commerce Health 
Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss the dual threat of the 
concurrent COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid overdose crisis. In that 
hearing we considered a slate of bills targeted toward the opioid 
crisis including H.R. 2355, the Opioid Prescription Verification Act of 
2021.

                              {time}  1615

  We knew then, and we know now, that time was ticking. Millions of 
Americans were experiencing the deadly pandemic and simultaneously 
living through hard-hitting mental health and substance use issues. 
Tragically, we have lost over 750,000 Americans to COVID-19 and over 
100,000 to drug overdoses during the pandemic.
  H.R. 2355 seeks to reduce prescription opioid diversion by directing 
HHS, DEA, FDA, CDC, and SAMHSA to update and disseminate training 
materials to help pharmacists that dispense opioid medications verify 
the identity of the patient. To incentivize States to facilitate 
verification, the bill also authorizes the CDC to prioritize certain 
grant funding to States that maintain

[[Page H6692]]

prescription drug monitoring programs and require prescribers of 
controlled substances to issue prescriptions electronically.
  Grant funding would also be prioritized for States that require 
pharmacists to enter certain information about controlled substance 
prescriptions into prescription drug monitoring programs, including the 
quantity dispensed, the date filed, and the patient identifier.
  This bill received unanimous support in the Energy and Commerce 
Committee and is part of a series of bills the committee has worked on 
to help prevent diversion of opioids and reduce harmful opioid use.
  I would like to thank the sponsors of this bill and my colleagues on 
the committee for their steadfast work in addressing the overdose 
crisis. We must continue to work in a bipartisan fashion to combat this 
crisis in order to keep our constituents safe.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2355, the Opioid 
Prescription Verification Act, a bill led by Representative Rodney 
Davis along with Representatives Bilirakis and Wagner.
  The opioid epidemic continues to devastate communities across the 
country. According to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, 
there were over 100,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States from 
April 2020 to April 2021. That is a 28.5 percent increase from the 
previous year.
  The Opioid Prescription Verification Act directs Federal agencies to 
develop, disseminate, and periodically update training materials to 
help pharmacists identify and report potential cases of bad actors who 
attempt to buy and sell controlled substances for illicit use.
  The bill also incentivizes States to utilize prescription drug 
monitoring programs and requires certain controlled substances to be 
prescribed electronically. Additionally, this bill includes data entry 
requirements that help reduce the potential diversion of prescription 
drugs.
  This bill will help stop criminals who perpetuate the vicious cycle 
of addiction. It is a crucial step toward ending the opioid epidemic 
and making our communities safer. I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional Members who wish to 
speak, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), my good friend.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate very much and want to thank 
the ranking member and, of course, the chairman of the committee as 
well. I won't take all of the 3 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2355, the Opioid 
Prescription Verification Act. I want to thank my colleague and good 
friend Rodney Davis for sponsoring this legislation, which I was proud 
to colead in the Energy and Commerce Committee.
  This bill, as amended, will allow HHS to give grant preference to 
States that require their practitioners to transmit prescriptions 
electronically in accordance with a prescription drug monitoring 
program. I can add that the great State of Florida does this.
  This bill expands on the work we did in the SUPPORT Act with 
Medicare's prescription drug programs to help prevent opioid abuse. We 
have a mental health and addiction problem in our Nation, Mr. Speaker, 
and I know the gentleman is aware of that. We must all stand together 
to enact meaningful changes to help combat this ongoing crisis. This 
bill does just that, Mr. Speaker, and I urge my colleagues to support 
it.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis).
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Kentucky, the Speaker pro tempore from Kentucky, and also my good 
friend from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) for their work. I would like to 
thank Mr. Pallone and Ranking Member McMorris Rodgers for allowing this 
piece of legislation to come to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 2355, the 
Opioid Prescription Verification Act of 2021. As my good friend Mr. 
Bilirakis just said a few minutes ago, this bill builds on the 
successes in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act that was 
signed into law by President Trump in 2018. Our bill adds to this 
success by incentivizing electronic prescribing of opioids.
  This bill also encourages the full use of States' existing 
prescription drug monitoring programs to help facilitate informed and 
responsible dispensing of controlled substances.
  My bill will ultimately help doctors and pharmacists track the 
prescriptions a patient has received and ensure they cannot be altered 
or copied and used multiple times in an illicit manner. This will help 
reduce prescription shopping and curb illegal sales that result in 
unprescribed use of opioids, which have tragically led to millions of 
overdose deaths.

  This idea actually came from a meeting I had with local law 
enforcement in the Bloomington-Normal area in central Illinois. I have 
to thank Chief Bleichner and also Sergeant Kapchinske for coming up 
with the idea because they had to track down some illicit opioid pill 
shoppers in their communities. By the time they figured out this group 
was shopping for opioid pills, the criminals were able to secure over 
300 pills that would have been sold on the black market and could have 
added to our death tolls.
  The dramatic increase in overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic has 
also shown that we must be doing more to prevent opioid abuse. The 
Opioid Prescription Verification Act is an important tool in our fight 
against the opioid epidemic.
  The original concept of this bill was to encourage States to 
implement protocols for opioid prescriptions similar to the federally 
mandated ID check on Sudafed-type drugs that has been in Federal law 
since 2005 because they can simply be used to illegally manufacture 
deadly methamphetamines.
  While I believe a Federal mandate for manual checks for opioids would 
stop a significant number of bad actors, expanded use of e-prescribing 
will be an important and effective tool to combat the abuse.
  I thank, again, Chairman Pallone, Ranking Member McMorris Rodgers, 
and also Ranking Member Guthrie; my good friend Mr. Bilirakis; and also 
Congresswoman Wagner for helping move this bill and finding this good, 
principled compromise today. I also encourage my colleagues to vote 
``yes'' on this important bill.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time as I 
am prepared to close.
  Mr. Speaker, our beloved home State has areas that have been really 
affected by the opioid epidemic. We also know that our colleagues back 
home who serve in our general assembly have spent an enormous amount of 
time trying to get verification through prescription programs and other 
programs moving forward.
  There is so much to do and so much we need to do through treatment 
and through other methods, but this is an important tool that will help 
our pharmacists realize when people are going around trying to get 
different prescriptions.
  I strongly support this bill and thank my friends for working on 
this: Representatives Davis, Bilirakis, and Wagner. I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues, again, to 
support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2355, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.

[[Page H6693]]

  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

                          ____________________