Greg Walden

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I just want to again say, as my friend and colleague from New Jersey has outlined, you understand the importance of why we need to make these changes under the law. I again commend him for his work on this. I encourage all my colleagues to support this very critical piece of legislation. This could do more to stop the flow of this illegal fentanyl and the death it brings to our country than any other thing we can do. I commend the gentleman for his work on this. I encourage support of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WALDEN. 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. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5228) to strengthen the authorities of the Food and Drug Administration to address counterfeit drugs, illegal and synthetic opioids, and opioid-like substances, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I don't have any other speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. 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. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this very important and bipartisan legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I commend Representatives Faso, Welch, and Renacci. They all worked hard to develop this bipartisan bill, and I thank them for their work. The Medicare Opioid Safety Education Act directs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to include information about the risk of opioid use, potential nonopioid pain management treatments, and other relevant information in the Medicare & You handbook that is published annually. The Medicare programs provide healthcare coverage to over 58 million users. We want to empower every person on Medicare to be able to have a thoughtful conversation with his or her provider about their prescriptions and the possible alternatives. Education is a big part of what we are doing here. The Medicare & You handbook is provided to every beneficiary and represents an education point for those on opioids and those who may, in the future, need to have a discussion about pain treatment options with their physician. We are rightfully seizing upon this opportunity to inform as many people as possible and educate them about the long-term opioid use and misuse. It is always a good thing to do. It is another tool in the toolbox when it comes to beneficiary outreach and education. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 5685. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Washington, DC, June 7, 2018. Hon. Kevin Brady, Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Brady: On May 9 and 17, 2018, the Committee on Energy and Commerce ordered favorably reported over 50 bills to address the opioid epidemic facing communities across our nation. Several of the bills were also referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. I ask that the Committee on Ways and Means not insist on its referral of the following bills so that they may be scheduled for consideration by the Majority Leader: H.R. 1925, At-Risk Youth Medicaid Protection Act of 2017; H.R. 3331, To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to promote testing of incentive payments for behavioral health providers for adoption and use of certified electronic health record technology; H.R. 3528, Every Prescription Conveyed Securely Act; H.R. 4841, Standardizing Electronic Prior Authorization for Safe Prescribing Act of 2018; H.R. 5582, Abuse Deterrent Access Act of 2018; H.R. 5590, Opioid Addiction Action Plan Act; H.R. 5603, Access to Telehealth Services for Opioid Use Disorder; H.R. 5605, Advancing High Quality Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders in Medicare Act; H.R. 5675, To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require prescription drug plan sponsors under the Medicare program to establish drug management programs for at-risk beneficiaries; H.R. 5684, Protecting Seniors from Opioid Abuse Act; H.R. 5685, Medicare Opioid Safety Education Act; H.R. 5686, Medicare Clear Health Options in Care for Enrollees (CHOICE) Act; H.R. 5715, Strengthening Partnerships to Prevent Opioid Abuse Act; H.R. 5716, Commit to Opioid Medical Prescriber Accountability and Safety for Seniors (COMPASS) Act; H.R. 5796, Responsible Education Achieves Care and Healthy Outcomes for Users' Treatment (REACH OUT) Act of 2018; H.R. 5798, Opioid Screening and Chronic Pain Management Alternatives for Seniors Act; H.R. 5804, Post-Surgical Injections as an Opioid Alternative Act; and H.R. 5809, Postoperative Opioid Prevention Act of 2018. This concession in no way affects your jurisdiction over the subject matter of these bills, and it will not serve as precedent for future referrals. In addition, should a conference on the bills be necessary, I would support your request to have the Committee on Ways and Means on the conference committee. Finally, I would be pleased to include this letter and your response in the bill reports and the Congressional Record. Thank you for your consideration of my request and for the extraordinary cooperation shown by you and your staff over matters of shared jurisdiction. I look forward to further opportunities to work with you this Congress. Sincerely, Greg Walden, Chairman.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I would do the same, urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Before I recognize my colleague from Kentucky, I just want to say, Mr. Rogers has spent many, many years leading nationally not only here in the Congress, but nationally and in Kentucky on this issue of addiction and the scourge of opioids as they have flooded into our area. His leadership has been very, very valuable in this endeavor. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers).

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 5102. This is the Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Act. It is legislation that would create a loan repayment program for substance use disorder treatment providers. Serious workforce shortages exist for all health professions across the United States. We know that. But a delay in addiction treatment for a patient with substance use disorder can be a life-or-death situation. By offering student loan repayment for those who agree to work as a substance use disorder treatment professional in an underserved area, this bill encourages more people to enter the substance use disorder treatment field and get critical services to areas that are seriously in dire need of treatment. I would like to thank my colleagues, Representatives Katherine Clark, Hal Rogers, John Sarbanes, and Brett Guthrie, for leading this important initiative. It is brought to you from your Energy and Commerce Committee with a unanimous vote. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5176) to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide coordinated care to patients who have experienced a non- fatal overdose after emergency room discharge, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. WALDEN. 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 into the Record on the bill.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 5176, the Preventing Overdoses While in Emergency Rooms Act, or the POWER Act. This legislation will provide needed resources to help hospitals, health departments, and health systems to develop discharge protocols for patients who have had an opioid overdose, such as the provision of naloxone upon discharge, and referrals to treatment and other services that best fit the patients' needs. By putting rapid referral systems in place, we can better place those presenting with an overdose in evidence-based treatment and get patients on the road to recovery. I want to thank my colleagues, Representatives David McKinley of West Virginia and Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania, for leading this initiative. I am going to yield to my colleague from West Virginia, but before I do, I just want to say what a leader David McKinley has been on this issue involving opioids. We have met on countless occasions. He has brought many initiatives to our committee. While he is the lead on this bill, he has been instrumental on nearly all the bills that we have considered and has been a tireless advocate for the people of West Virginia in this matter. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. McKinley).

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I just want to, again, thank our leaders on this effort, Mr. Doyle and certainly Mr. McKinley. I would encourage passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. WALDEN. 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 material in the Record on the bill.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers on this matter. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers, so I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Kansas (Ms. Jenkins), who has been a real leader on this legislation.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Members on both sides for their good work on this legislation. I urge passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend Mr. Carter, Mr. Loebsack, and Mr. Reed, bipartisan Members working together on legislation to develop the bipartisan bill. This Medicare program provides healthcare coverage to more than 58 million of our citizens. Serving the over-age-65 population, Medicare accounts for a large share of total opioid prescriptions, as you might imagine. While many Medicare beneficiaries with serious and very real pain-related conditions are being properly prescribed opioids, we have to be mindful of the potential dangers of diversion and misuse of these very prescriptions. There is no silver bullet in stopping the opioid crisis in this country, but this legislation before us now will study one potential tool for slowing misuse and diversion of opioids prescribed to the chronic care population. Abuse-deterrent formulations have proven to the Food and Drug Administration that they are harder to abuse because of certain properties they contain. While no abuse-deterrent formulation is 100 percent resistant to abuse, I think we need to know what policies may be in place that would limit patient access to these drugs for when they are the right option. I believe this bill is important to inform future discussions on these technologies, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' and pass H.R. 5582. I know Mr. Carter, again, our resident pharmacist, has been very active in this effort. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Washington, DC, June 7, 2018. Hon. Kevin Brady, Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Brady: On May 9 and 17, 2018, the Committee on Energy and Commerce ordered favorably reported over 50 bills to address the opioid epidemic facing communities across our nation. Several of the bills were also referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. I ask that the Committee on Ways and Means not insist on its referral of the following bills so that they may be scheduled for consideration by the Majority Leader: H.R. 1925, At-Risk Youth Medicaid Protection Act of 2017; H.R. 3331, To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to promote testing of incentive payments for behavioral health providers for adoption and use of certified electronic health record technology; H.R. 3528, Every Prescription Conveyed Securely Act; H.R. 4841, Standardizing Electronic Prior Authorization for Safe Prescribing Act of 2018; H.R. 5582, Abuse Deterrent Access Act of 2018; H.R. 5590, Opioid Addiction Action Plan Act; H.R. 5603, Access to Telehealth Services for Opioid Use Disorder; H.R. 5605, Advancing High Quality Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders in Medicare Act; H.R. 5675, To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require prescription drug plan sponsors under the Medicare program to establish drug management programs for at-risk beneficiaries; H.R. 5684, Protecting Seniors from Opioid Abuse Act; H.R. 5685, Medicare Opioid Safety Education Act; H.R. 5686, Medicare Clear Health Options in Care for Enrollees (CHOICE) Act; o H.R. 5715, Strengthening Partnerships to Prevent Opioid Abuse Act; H.R. 5715, Strengthening Partnerships to Prevent Opioid Abuse Act; H.R. 5716, Commit to Opioid Medical Prescriber Accountability and Safety for Seniors (COMPASS) Act; H.R. 5796, Responsible Education Achieves Care and Healthy Outcomes for Users' Treatment (REACH OUT) Act of 2018; H.R. 5798, Opioid Screening and Chronic Pain Management Alternatives for Seniors Act; H.R. 5804, Post-Surgical Injections as an Opioid Alternative Act; and H.R. 5809, Postoperative Opioid Prevention Act of 2018. This concession in no way affects your jurisdiction over the subject matter of these bills, and it will not serve as precedent for future referrals. In addition, should a conference on the bills be necessary, I would support your request to have the Committee on Ways and Means on the conference committee. Finally, I would be pleased to include this letter and your response in the bill reports and the Congressional Record. Thank you for your consideration of my request and for the extraordinary cooperation shown by you and your staff over matters of shared jurisdiction. I look forward to further opportunities to work with you this Congress. Sincerely, Greg Walden, Chairman.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I urge the same, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation. I thank the Members from Michigan who brought it to our attention, and worked with the full Energy and Commerce Committee in bringing it to your disposal here on the floor. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5197) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a demonstration program to test alternative pain management protocols to limit the use of opioids in emergency departments, as amended.