Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today is a product of the chairman's hard work and that of our colleague from California (Mr. DeSaulnier). As the only pharmacist serving in Congress, Mr. Carter understands the need to get fraudulent prescriptions off of our streets and give folks on the front line additional tools to combat the opioid crisis. This is why I know he helped author this bipartisan bill, which will require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and disseminate education materials for pharmacists to better detect, and reject, fraudulent prescriptions. While law enforcement plays a key role in detecting and stopping fraudulent prescriptions, responsibility ultimately lies with pharmacists, who are licensed healthcare professionals. For this reason, we amended the bill at the committee level to originate the materials at the Department of Health and Human Services as opposed to the Justice Department. As Mr. Carter has repeatedly said, this bill will complement the DEA's existing efforts, like the Diversion Control Division's Pharmacy Diversion Awareness Conferences held throughout the country, as well as their other meetings, presentations, and seminars. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.”