On the recordJune 19, 2018
Let me take this time to express my appreciation to Chairman Walden and Ranking Member Pallone, for their leadership in addressing the opioid epidemic in the U.S. House of Representatives. On April 24th of this year, I had the opportunity to work across the aisle in introducing bipartisan legislation with my Energy and Commerce colleague, Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. We were joined by two additional colleagues as original co-sponsors, who sit on the House Ways and Means Committee--Rep. Darrin LaHood, my Republican colleague from Illinois and Rep. Danny K. Davis, my CBC Colleague who hails from Illinois as well. Our bill, The Opioid Addiction Action Plan of 2018, is a roadmap to not only abating the opioid epidemic, but to engaging industry to be innovative in the development of new pain management therapies. There are many players and much is at stake. According to the National Institutes of Drug Abuse, there are more than 115 opioid related deaths per day. The CDC estimates that the economic burden of prescription opioid misuse is roughly $78.5 billion a year--and that's in the U.S. alone. Since we know the enormity of this issue plaguing our country, passing H.R. 5590 would require that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) seeks stakeholder feedback as well as public comment, before producing an Opioid Addiction Act Plan report to Congress. It is going to take all of us to tackle this national opioid epidemic. And Mr.…
