Gus Bilirakis: “I appreciate very much and want to thank the ranking member and, of course, the chairman of the committee as well. I…”

“I appreciate very much and want to thank the ranking member and, of course, the chairman of the committee as well. I won't take all of the 3 minutes. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2355, the Opioid Prescription Verification Act. I want to thank my colleague and good friend Rodney Davis for sponsoring this legislation, which I was proud to colead in the Energy and Commerce Committee. This bill, as amended, will allow HHS to give grant preference to States that require their practitioners to transmit prescriptions electronically in accordance with a prescription drug monitoring program. I can add that the great State of Florida does this. This bill expands on the work we did in the SUPPORT Act with Medicare's prescription drug programs to help prevent opioid abuse. We have a mental health and addiction problem in our Nation, Mr. Speaker, and I know the gentleman is aware of that. We must all stand together to enact meaningful changes to help combat this ongoing crisis. This bill does just that, Mr. Speaker, and I urge my colleagues to support it.”