Protecting Our Infants Act Of 2015

Floor Speech

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Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding.

Our Nation is experiencing a deadly opiate epidemic, an epidemic that knows no boundaries and destroys lives, families, and communities.

Today 58 babies--one baby every 25 minutes--will be born suffering from the same pain adults describe as the worst pain of their lives. It is the pain of drug withdrawal.

Neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS for short, occurs when babies are born dependent on opioids, and it is one of the chief causes of the significant surge of newborns in neonatal intensive care units across the Nation.

Over the last decade, the number of infants born dependent on powerful drugs has grown nearly fivefold. In States like Massachusetts, NAS is occurring at a rate three times the national average.

NAS births are five times more costly than healthy ones. Costs have risen to more than $1.5 billion a year, 80 percent of which are paid for by Medicaid.

Because of this skyrocketing rise of NAS cases and costs, doctors are desperately trying to find the most effective method of diagnosis and treatment.

There is little coordination of data and best practices and protocols among States, healthcare systems, and practitioners; and no medications have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating these babies.

The Protecting Our Infants Act is the first Federal bill to take proactive steps in addressing the rise of NAS. With broad bipartisan support in both Chambers, this is an opportunity for Congress to make a difference for babies suffering from opioid exposure and the families struggling with addiction.

This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to develop the protocols for treating and preventing NAS. The Protecting Our Infants Act helps babies suffering from opioid withdrawal by making sure they get the best care available.

This act will ensure that every hospital has access to the best practices and that States have the public health data they need to address this crisis. This is good for families, good for our healthcare providers, and good for our Nation's bottom line. There is little coordination of data and best practices and protocols among States, healthcare systems, and practitioners; and no medications have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating these babies.

The Protecting Our Infants Act is the first Federal bill to take proactive steps in addressing the rise of NAS. With broad bipartisan support in both Chambers, this is an opportunity for Congress to make a difference for babies suffering from opioid exposure and the families struggling with addiction.

This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to develop the protocols for treating and preventing NAS. The Protecting Our Infants Act helps babies suffering from opioid withdrawal by making sure they get the best care available.

This act will ensure that every hospital has access to the best practices and that States have the public health data they need to address this crisis. This is good for families, good for our healthcare providers, and good for our Nation's bottom line.

I want to thank my colleagues in the House and, in particular, Congressman Steve Stivers for his partnership in this bill. I am grateful for his deep commitment to addressing this problem and crafting a solution. I am also grateful to Senators McConnell and Casey for sponsoring this legislation in the Senate.

Today, we have a chance to help the youngest of those suffering from the opioid crisis.

I urge my colleagues to pass the bipartisan Protecting Our Infants Act.

I want to thank my colleagues in the House and, in particular, Congressman Steve Stivers for his partnership in this bill. I am grateful for his deep commitment to addressing this problem and crafting a solution. I am also grateful to Senators McConnell and Casey for sponsoring this legislation in the Senate.

Today, we have a chance to help the youngest of those suffering from the opioid crisis.

I urge my colleagues to pass the bipartisan Protecting Our Infants Act. There is little coordination of data and best practices and protocols among States, healthcare systems, and practitioners; and no medications have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating these babies.

The Protecting Our Infants Act is the first Federal bill to take proactive steps in addressing the rise of NAS. With broad bipartisan support in both Chambers, this is an opportunity for Congress to make a difference for babies suffering from opioid exposure and the families struggling with addiction.

This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to develop the protocols for treating and preventing NAS. The Protecting Our Infants Act helps babies suffering from opioid withdrawal by making sure they get the best care available.

This act will ensure that every hospital has access to the best practices and that States have the public health data they need to address this crisis. This is good for families, good for our healthcare providers, and good for our Nation's bottom line.

I want to thank my colleagues in the House and, in particular, Congressman Steve Stivers for his partnership in this bill. I am grateful for his deep commitment to addressing this problem and crafting a solution. I am also grateful to Senators McConnell and Casey for sponsoring this legislation in the Senate.

Today, we have a chance to help the youngest of those suffering from the opioid crisis.

I urge my colleagues to pass the bipartisan Protecting Our Infants Act.

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