Paul Tonko: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, all across my district, I have encountered stories of individuals and…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, all across my district, I have encountered stories of individuals and families whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the scourge of the opioid epidemic: a father who lost his daughter too young and is pouring his grief into advocacy, a former neighbor and a dad who left behind two young children, a young man who is walking the hard path of recovery and showing others how to do the same. These are the stories I hear day in and day out. They fill my heart; they fill my voice. And it is because of them that I am so very proud to cast a vote in favor of H.R. 6 today. It is my hope that this legislation will be another small step for our Nation on its road of recovery from this epidemic. I am particularly proud that this bill incorporates legislation that I have introduced, along with my good friend Representative Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, which will provide a meaningful expansion to high- quality addiction treatment by allowing additional healthcare providers, such as nurse midwives, to prescribe buprenorphine, a medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. In addition, this provision will make permanent buprenorphine- prescribing authority for nurse practitioners and physician assistants and allow certain providers to treat more patients in the first year of their license.…”