Richard Blumenthal

My view is that fact ought to be changed.

Just for the record, your reference to my office was to the Office of Attorney General in the settlement that was done with Perdue Farmer.

To state it succinctly, you receive no Federal or State funds for the operation of your office?

I want to ask Mr. Gadea about sources of funding for the Prescription Monitoring program.

Uploading this information from the VA to the State system, in other words, complete connectivity would aid not only better treatment, but also law enforcement that would save taxpayer dollars?

I want to thank her for being here today, as well as Senator Johnson

As a practicing physician, I can assure you, nothing could be further from the truth.

The number 1 goal here is to make sure these tragedies never happen to another veteran or their families

At least you will have my commitment to pursue it and I hope it will be a bipartisan initiative because this kind of coordination of information is really essential to protecting veterans.

But that is not true.

I am pleased that my colleagues from Wisconsin are joining our conversation today to lend some insight into what their constituents in Wisconsin experienced.

Even under this new system, will the prescribing providers in the VA system be compelled to provide information to the State prescription monitoring programs, that is the State registries?

Thank you, Senator Isakson. First of all, thank you, Dr. Clancy, for acknowledging the value of a good lawyer.

Veterans deserve to have the best systems in place for drug delivery as well as information on all options available to them.

Plain and simple, the current system is abysmally inadequate. It is like Swiss cheese, riddled with gaps and holes that permit and, in fact, enable, sometime even encourage over-prescription, deadly over-prescription of opioids.

VA providers can now access the State Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP), it is not compulsory that they do so?

This is a new system that will be going nationwide as of June?

I led a hearing on Prescription Drug Abuse as Attorney General of the state of Connecticut over a decade ago.

I'm pleased that Chairman Isakson has chosen to have another hearing on this important topic.

Over-prescription and overdose of opioids is an epidemic and a scourge in this country.

In some States, 20 of them...

Prescription drug overdose has become an epidemic in this country.

Thank you. Unfortunately, my time has expired and since Senator Isakson is here and since he is the Chairman, I am going to yield to him and just say I have many more questions.

There have been both civil and criminal prosecutions resulting from the excellent work done by your program.

Providing them with responsible pain treatment is one of our obligations and it ought to be responsible.