Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. This bill makes incremental changes to support those affected by the opioid crisis, but it is far from perfect. H.R. 6 does not adequately deal with the magnitude of the crisis that this country is facing, and there are provisions that I did not support at the subcommittee or full committee markup, including provisions that most Democrats voted against. Nonetheless, I am pleased that Democrats were able to secure positive provisions in the final package that we are considering today. Most notably, H.R. 6 includes provisions from a bill introduced by Representative Tonko and Representative Lujan that would extend access to evidence-based, medication-assisted treatment. Specifically, this section of the bill will allow advanced practice registered nurses, including midwives, to treat patients with buprenorphine for opiate use disorder for 5 years. The bill will also allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to treat patients with buprenorphine permanently, and allow qualified providers to treat up to 100 patients instead of 30 patients in their first year. This is a critical step forward in the expansion of treatment, one of the major challenges that we continue to face in the fight against this epidemic. Mr. Chair, I commend Representative Tonko and Representative Lujan for their ongoing leadership in this area.…”