Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I would also like to thank my colleague, Mr. Griffith, for all his work on this very important legislation. I would also like to thank him for including language that requires a report on the impact of PDMPs on patient access to appropriate care. This is critical for epilepsy patients that can face barriers to accessing their Schedule V non- narcotic drugs necessary to control their seizures. Several epilepsy medications are classified as Schedule V and, therefore, fall under monitoring requirements, despite the fact that they are non-opioid, non-narcotic, and there is no evidence to indicate that these medications are being abused by people with epilepsy. This has led to unnecessary delays in access to their prescribed therapy. A handful of States have passed legislation that removes non-narcotic drugs from reporting requirements. As we work through legislation intended to combat the opioid crisis, we need to ensure that we do not limit access to legitimate care, especially to non-narcotic drugs.”