Opioid Addiction

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, opioid addiction has proven to destroy hope, it destroys opportunity, and it is destroying families.

Certainly we see this across the country, but we are also seeing the devastating effects of addiction in Tennessee. Tennessee has the second highest rating nationally for opioid addiction.

As many States are exceedingly aware, drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in this country. As we started working on this issue in the Committee on Energy and Commerce, so many people did not realize that prescription drug abuse is the leading cause of accidental death in our country, with over 18,000 fatalities last year. Addiction does not care about race, gender, or politics. It is an issue that affects all of us, and it affects the people that we are here to serve.

Together many of us--families and those that we love in our communities--are working to find solutions that will combat this epidemic and help remedy those who are suffering from addiction the most. Just this week--and you can look at the bills that have been on the agenda and have passed the House; many of these are being done with bipartisan support--there have been 15 amendments to these bills. They have all passed by voice vote.

What the bills will do is to streamline the burdensome bureaucracy which currently debilitates finding a solution for this crisis.

I commend my colleagues for focusing on this issue and for saying: What do we do to get to the root cause of this problem and put the tools in place so that, at the local, State, and Federal levels, this can be addressed and it can be solved?

One of the things that we have done is to improve the situation with the VA and the oversight mechanisms that they have to make certain that our veterans are being protected and that the issues of addiction are being appropriately addressed and dealt with.

Earlier this year we achieved a success that is one way that the Federal Government can help in the work that our State legislators are doing. In my State of Tennessee, State Senator Dr. Joey Hensley and State Representative Barry Doss have been the leaders on these issues for our general assembly.

The legislation that I authored along with Congressman Tom Marino was signed into law and ensures access to proper medication for patients with legitimate needs while allowing us to continue battling the drug diversion and abuse problem that exists here in our country. It will enable our local and State officials to move forward, address the pill mills, and, at the same time, make certain that patients with needs have access.

The legislation is called the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016. What it will do is to combat the inappropriate use of prescription drugs by bringing greater clarity-- something that is needed in so many laws and rules--but bringing greater clarity and transparency to the requirements needed for safe and secure distribution of medications.

Mr. Speaker, the people battling addiction are moms and dads, brothers and sisters and children, neighbors and friends. They are saying: We need your help. Our healthcare professionals and our pharmacists have said: We need clarity. That is what we in the House are seeking to do this week.

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