Frank Pallone

This bill would shine a light on the quality of voice and broadband services offered in rural areas.

Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death for people of all ages, and every year hundreds of thousands of people are injured in attempted suicides or other mental health emergencies.

I stated in my opening statement yesterday that I was concerned that H.R. 3545, the Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act could dangerously erect a barrier to patients seeking and remaining in treatment and therefore harm our efforts…

The legislation authorized would help to improve on CDC's work

I am sure you realize that many of us, all of us probably, on the committee are so frustrated because we see the opioid problem getting worse.

Well, many of us have talked about how there are millions of these packages that come in through international mail facilities every day, and the FDA only has the resources to inspect a small fraction; I think about 40,000.

I have long been concerned about the number of illicit drugs entering our supply chain and worked with the FDA and many in the generic industry to strengthen FDA's authority in FDASIA, and most recently introduced H.R. 5228, the SCREEN…

I wanted to ask Mr. Francer some questions. The committee has heard concerns from FDA regarding the public health concerns associated with illicit, unapproved, or counterfeit drugs entering our supply chain.

I introduced the bill I mentioned, H.R. 5228, or the SCREEN Act, which would provide FDA with additional authority and resources to combat this problem.

I wanted to thank you for appearing before the committee again and for your forward thinking when it comes to the opioid crisis this country is facing.

I do not think the additions to the underlying text of the bill cures the issue of the risk of stigma, discrimination, and negative health and life outcomes.

One of the major ways we can impact the prevalence of opioids available for abuse is to limit the importation of synthetic opioids that have infiltrated our international mailing facilities.

Without this funding commitment, many of the laws we have passed and the bills being discussed during this hearing are nothing more than empty words.

And that is why I am pleased that Congress agreed in the budget agreement to provide a total of $6 billion in additional funding for efforts to respond to the epidemic for fiscal years 2018 and 2019.

While we have worked together to pass CARA and the 21st Century Cures Act, more must be done.

Today, we continue a series of hearings to address the complex opioid abuse crisis that is devastating lives across the country.

A bill I am sponsoring will require the Food and Drug Administration to provide more clarity through a guidance on how these stakeholders can utilize the accelerated approval and breakthrough therapy programs to expedite the availability…

But you're saying, as she did, that that's, you know, something that could happen but you don't see it happening in the immediate future?

The job of the Commission is to regulate nuclear power for the benefit of all Americans, not just one industry or sector.

I believe there is an important role for nuclear energy to play in addressing global climate change, but I want to make perfectly clear that safety must come first.

For existing units, it's critical that they be able to meet the safety needs of a post-Fukushima world, the security challenges of a post-9/11 world, and the financial requirements of a market with some of the lowest natural gas and…

I continue to believe that a safe, efficient, and modern nuclear fleet should be an important part of our Nation's effort to combat climate change.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Clearly, something went wrong. The safeguards designed to prevent opioids from being diverted into the wrong hands simply did not work.

Congress also has a responsibility to figure out what went wrong and how it went wrong and how to make sure something like this never happens again.