Brett Guthrie

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline), the chairman of the full committee.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3179) to amend the loan counseling requirements under the Higher Education Act of 1965, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3179, the Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act. Mr. Speaker, as a member on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, I was pleased to introduce a bipartisan bill that will help address a number of challenges Americans face as they pursue their dream of higher education. As students and families explore all of the available options when trying to choose the right college or university, they face a daunting number of difficult choices, especially when it comes to financing their education. Deciding how to pay for college is an important decision that could have a lasting impact on a student's finances--long after he or she graduates and enters the workforce. Unfortunately, current policies that are supposed to promote the financial literacy of aid recipients often leave students and their families in the dark. Here is a troubling statistic: in a survey of current students and recent graduates who are carrying a high level of student loan debt, more than 40 percent couldn't remember ever receiving financial counseling--even though it was required before receiving their first loan. With college costs on the rise, we need to do more to help students and their families make informed, responsible decisions when it comes to financing a postsecondary education. That is why I, along with Representatives Allen and Bonamici, introduced H.R. 3179. This bipartisan legislation will provide Americans with the tools they need to better understand their financial aid options and obligations. By improving the timing and frequency of financial counseling, the bill will empower students and parents to make smart decisions about how to pay for their education and avoid unnecessary financial hardship down the road. The bill will require student and parent borrowers to receive financial counseling before even agreeing to a loan, helping them understand the responsibilities they are taking on before they sign on the dotted line. The bill also enhances the quality of the counseling, ensuring it is tailored to a borrower's unique needs and circumstances. The same is true for certain students who rely on Pell grants to finance their education. Under this legislation, students who receive a Pell grant but never receive a Federal student loan would also have to receive annual counseling to ensure they are aware of the grant's terms and conditions. Just as importantly, this bill will bolster exit counseling to help student borrowers understand their responsibilities as they leave school. This legislation will help ensure students understand their options and obligations when they begin their college careers and when they graduate. While it is important for students and parents to understand their functional obligations, it is important for them to understand their financial options as well. For example, while Federal loans have a number of benefits for borrowers, certain State, nonprofit, and private loans may actually have more beneficial annual percentage rates, particularly at the graduate and parent levels. An accurate comparison is important because it will allow students and parents to make the decision that is best for them. Together, these and other reforms in the bill will empower students and their families to make informed, responsible decisions when deciding how to finance their higher education. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bipartisan legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. In closing, I want to remind my colleagues about the importance of this legislation. With today's struggling economy and the cost of college rising, it is more important than ever for students and their families to make decisions that will help them succeed, not set them up for failure. That includes decisions on how to pay for college. The Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act will provide students and parents with the tools and information they need to make financially responsible decisions every step of the way. This is a bipartisan piece of legislation with my good friends, Mr. Allen and Ms. Bonamici. I am glad to be on the floor with my friend, Mr. Pocan, who I believe has a very big university in his district. He is from Madison. I thank him for doing that. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3179.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. 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 materials in the Record on the bill.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4599, the Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016, introduced by Ms. Clark of Massachusetts and Mr. Stivers of Ohio. The number of prescriptions for opioids has significantly increased in recent years. While opioids can benefit patients when used appropriately, once their pain is subsided, there may be unused pills that could be misused and diverted. Several States have considered enabling pharmacies to partially fill such prescriptions to minimize the number of pills in circulation while continuing to address the patient needs. However, current DEA regulations are not entirely clear about when such partial fills are permitted. H.R. 4599 amends the Controlled Substances Act to clarify when schedule II controlled substances, including opioid pain medications, can be partially filled. This is a commonsense, bipartisan bill that will help save lives. I urge my colleagues to join me in support. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4982) to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to evaluate and report on the in-patient and outpatient treatment capacity, availability, and needs of the United States, as amended.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4982, Examining Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Act of 2016, introduced by my colleagues, the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Mr. Pallone of New Jersey, and Mr. Foster of Illinois. H.R. 4982 directs the Government Accountability Office to evaluate and report on the inpatient and outpatient treatment capacity, availability, and needs of the United States. It is important to have the data necessary to assess the opioid infrastructure in our country. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), my friend.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote for H.R. 4982. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4981) to amend the Controlled Substances Act to improve access to opioid use disorder treatment, as amended.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4981, the Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Expansion and Modernization Act, introduced by the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko). More than 2 million Americans are living with a substance use disorder. Evidence strongly suggests that medication-assisted treatment can have a significant impact on combating this epidemic. H.R. 4981 would amend the Controlled Substance Act to expand access to medication-assisted treatment for patients with substance use disorders while improving the quality of care provided and minimizing the potential for drug diversion. For the first time, this bill would authorize nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe maintenance treatment in an office- based setting after meeting certain training requirements. H.R. 4981 would improve the training that all qualifying practitioners receive, and it would maintain the critical role counseling and other recovery support services play in the provision of quality medication-assisted treatment. Further, the bill would require HHS to perform a thorough review of opioid use disorder so we know what is working well and where there is a need for further improvement. H.R. 4981 is the product of extensive bipartisan discussion at the Energy and Commerce Committee, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon), a cosponsor of this piece of legislation.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, people come here to the people's House from all walks of life. We are blessed to have a pharmacist amongst us. The only pharmacist here. These are difficult issues. Legal prescription drugs are diverted and abused, and heroin is illegal. It is great to have his expertise. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I encourage and urge my colleagues to support this very important bill, H.R. 4981. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4976) to require the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to seek recommendations from an advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration before approval of certain new drugs that are opioids without abuse-deterrent properties, and for other purposes.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance), my good friend and a fellow member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, this bill, the FDA's Opioid Action Plan, is important in our larger package of bills. I urge my colleagues to support this measure, H.R. 4976. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, one of the great privileges of the people's House, people come here from all walks of life with all different expertise. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), the only registered pharmacist that serves in the House of Representatives, who is here to speak on this and several of the bills today.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4978, the Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act, sponsored by Representative Evan Jenkins. This commonsense, bipartisan piece of legislation contains two important policies which will help strengthen our efforts to curb opioid abuse. First, the bill requires the Government Accountability Office to carefully study ways to improve care for babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome, NAS. NAS is a drug-withdrawal syndrome that most commonly occurs after an in-utero exposure to opioids that has, sadly, grown into prevalence in recent years. As the New England Journal of Medicine noted last year, from 2000 through 2009, the incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome in the United States nearly tripled, with several States reporting even larger recent increases. That same study noted that, in 2013, the number of NICU hospital days nationwide attributed to the care of infants with NAS was six to seven times greater than it was in 2004. So this bill will expand our knowledge of care of NAS babies by requiring GAO to study what is known about the prevalence of NAS in the United States, the number of NAS babies covered by Medicaid, the settings for care of NAS babies, and access to care for NAS babies under State Medicaid programs. Based on the recommendation of Representative Andy Barr, the bill also directs GAO to identify what is known about best practices providing care for infants with NAS. This comprehensive study, including the research focusing on best practices, can help us improve our efforts to provide care for some of the most vulnerable among us. This bill takes a second important step to help combat opioid abuse by fixing an unintended consequence with the Medicaid drug rebate program that effectively discourages drug manufacturers from producing opioids that are harder to abuse. Specifically, this second policy would exempt abuse-deterrent formulations of drugs from the definition of ``line extension'' for the purpose of calculating Medicaid rebates. Abuse-deterrent formulations of drugs represent a critically important tool in the Federal policy toolbox. In its Opioids Action Plan, FDA said its goal is to ``expand access to abuse-deterrent formulations to discourage abuse.'' And in its ADF guidance to manufacturers, the agency said it ``considers the development of these products a high public health priority.'' This policy enjoys bipartisan support, and was introduced by Representative Bilirakis previously. This policy was also included in the President's FY 2017 budget, which noted that correcting the law would ``incentivize continued development of abuse-deterrent formulations.'' This policy can help save lives. Currently, more than 4 million Americans misuse or abuse prescription painkillers and more than 16,000 individuals die from prescription painkiller overdoses each year. This change will help ensure there is continued investment in important abuse-deterrent drug technologies to help reduce the number of patients who abuse opioid drugs. Finally, to help offset the cost of the Medicaid drug rebate change, this bill includes a third policy that was introduced by Representative Bilirakis in the past, and recently was included in the President's 2017 budget. It would protect from public disclosure the program integrity algorithms CMS uses to identify and predict waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. Today the mathematical algorithms and predictive technologies that CMS uses in Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP are vital to uncovering fraud, waste, and abuse. However, if various aspects of these algorithms were to become publicly known, fraudsters could utilize the information to redirect their schemes to avoid detection. This policy would simply prevent the disclosure of these anti-fraud tools from freedom of information-related laws while still allowing CMS and State Medicaid and CHIP programs to freely share algorithms and other predictive analytic tools. Doing so saves taxpayers money and offsets the cost of the rebate policy. Mr. Speaker, this bill would enhance our knowledge about how to care for infants with NAS, encourage more abuse-deterrent formulations of drugs, and prevent powerful, anti-fraud tools from falling into the wrong hands. I urge support for this commonsense, bipartisan piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1818) to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide grants to States to streamline State requirements and procedures for veterans with military emergency medical training to become civilian emergency medical technicians, as amended.