Political Quotes

“I yield myself 2 minutes. Drug addiction is a problem we must face both at the individual and the systemic level. We bear the cost of addiction as a society. These costs are measured in lives and unmet human potential; and, frankly, in dollars. A recent study by the National Institutes of Health found the economic cost of drug abuse totaled some $100 billion a year, costs borne by all members of society by increased demand on our health care system and our criminal justice system. H.R. 869, the Drug Addiction Treatment Expansion Act, addresses an anomaly in the current law that limits access to an effective drug addiction treatment. To ensure proper oversight of drug addiction treatment, current law limits the number of patients any one doctor can treat. However, this restriction inadvertently limits group practices to the same 30-patient limit. This legislation clarifies that each doctor in a group practice is subject to the 30-patient limit, not the group practice as a whole. This bill will expand access to effective addiction treatment. When we come together to fight addiction, we must use every means available. This bill gives doctors an improved and important tool. H.R. 869 has the support of a range of organizations, including the American Psychological Association and the Partnership for a Drug Free America. I am pleased to support its passage. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.”