Political Quotes

“I am pleased that the House is taking up again bipartisan action today to address the serious issue that impacts families in each of our districts: prescription drug abuse. Vermont, like Tennessee and many States around the country, is grappling with a serious opiate epidemic. In addition to alarming increases in heroin abuse, admissions for treatment of prescription drug abuse increased 361 percent between 2005 and 2013. As we have experienced in Vermont, we are most effective in dealing with this public health crisis when stakeholders--providers, public health officials, law enforcement, distributors, and pharmacists--come together to tackle the problem head-on. Today, the distributors of prescription drugs, along with local pharmacies, are experiencing unpredictable enforcement from the DEA. This has led to disruptions in the supply chain which limit patient access to prescription drugs for legitimate uses, as was evidenced by my colleague's story. The Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act will encourage collaboration between law enforcement, members of the supply chain, and public health providers and officials while ensuring patients have access to the treatment their doctor has prescribed. It has been a pleasure to work with Representative Marino, Representative Blackburn, and Representative Chu, who has been a major leader on this, and I thank them for their efforts and their leadership.…”