On the recordJune 12, 2018
Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Pallone for yielding. Mr. Speaker, it is a good bipartisan day for Michigan right now. It shows you that when we want to work together, we can and do and are going to make a difference. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5041, the Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act, which I am proud to sponsor with my colleague from Michigan (Mr. Walberg). I thank him for all of his good, hard work on this issue as we have learned together about things that are happening. Hospices perform an essential role in our healthcare system and we need to make every effort to support hospice employees, who do incredible work providing care and comfort in those final days of life. We need to make their jobs as easy as possible. We also need to make sure that we are doing everything we can to stop opportunities for the diversion of opioids. This is essential if we are going to make a real impact in ending this epidemic, which is so devastating to families in every corner of our country. This is an important bill, which achieves both goals of supporting hospices and stopping opportunities for diversion. The Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act closes a critical gap in our laws that prohibits hospice employees from disposing of unused opioids after a patient has, unfortunately, passed away.…





