Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak in support of the amendment and to thank my friend from Utah, Mr. Curtis, for his hard work on this very thoughtful piece of legislation. It is important that women who take opioid pain medications are aware of the possible risks during pregnancy. You heard him delineate those tragic, tragic risks, such as premature birth and neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS. While there is increasing awareness and use of nonopioid approaches in the management of pain over all, information about their use in pregnant patients and unique considerations of mother and child are simply lacking. So this amendment requires the Department of Health and Human Services to report on the opioid prescribing practices and opioid misuse during pregnancy, and evaluate nonopioid alternatives to pain management during pregnancy. This will complement the efforts of the Protecting Our Infants Act, which required a report on prenatal opioid exposure and NAS, presenting a strategy and clinical recommendations for preventing and treating infants withdrawal. I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment. Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), a very important Member not only of the U.S. House of Representatives as our whip, but a very influential and effective member on our Energy and Commerce Committee.”