Pill Mill Crackdown Act of 2011

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge legislative action on a widespread public health crisis.

I want to thank, first of all, my colleagues, especially my good neighbor and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, the gentleman from Kentucky, Mr. Hal Rogers, Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack, and Congressmen Steve Lynch and Bill Keating--whom you'll hear from in a moment--all tremendous leaders in our fight to stop this epidemic.

The CDC has confirmed what local leaders and professionals across the board have been struggling with daily: prescription drug abuse is a national epidemic--a term the CDC does not use lightly.

It is no longer a silent epidemic. It can be seen at any hour of any day on street corners and in school yards. Every day, there are new stories reporting overdoses, deaths, accidents, and tragedies of families torn apart by the vicious cycle of prescription drug abuse. And the cycle is certainly vicious.

Unlike cocaine or heroin, prescription drugs are legal and frequently prescribed by caring physicians who are led by the principle oath of ``first do no harm.'' Yet, alarming statistics show that children and adults are blind to the harmful consequences of these drugs even as they become addicted, paying upwards of $150 per pill to buy them on the black market.

Distressingly, my home State of West Virginia has our Nation's highest rate of drug-related deaths. In fact, between 2001 and 2008, more than 9 out of 10 of those deaths involved prescription drugs. Incredibly, drug overdoses now kill more West Virginians each year than do car accidents.

But the alarming use and deaths by prescription drugs is not just in West Virginia. As other distinguished Members will tell you, prescription drug abuse hits everyone, whether you're 9 or 90, whether you're rich or poor, living in big cities or small towns, whether you're Democrat, Independent, Republican, or whatever, anywhere in our great United States.

We know there is no one single answer, no single action, and no silver bullet in the fight against prescription drug abuse. I've met many times with law enforcement, community organizations, educators, physicians, and many other constituents, and I know that fighting back against prescription drug abuse will take the work of an entire village.

We must strengthen drug diversion, educate children and adults on prevention, work with the medical community on addiction and pain treatment, and treat and rehabilitate those affected by vicious addiction before they succumb to the death spiral.

I and my distinguished colleagues have put forth and supported legislation that aims to combat prescription drug abuse. We know that something more must be done from a Federal level, and that's why I've introduced H.R. 1925, the Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. This bill would implement multiple measures essential to combating prescription drug abuse, education and training, monitoring, evaluation and enforcement, and it provides a good guideline to coordinate Federal, State, and local efforts to fight this epidemic.

The bill establishes mandatory physician and consumer education and authorizes Federal funding to help our States create and maintain prescription drug monitoring programs that all States can access. It would also set up a uniform system for tracking painkiller-related deaths, helping States and law enforcement professionals manage and report data.

The West Virginia State Police, our State's attorney general, and even physicians have all consistently stressed the need for access to a prescription drug monitoring system that is shared between State lines and updated in real time.

I know my colleagues have authored and supported similar bills, like H.R. 2119, the Ryan Creedon Act, which also seeks to implement targeted physician education on prescription drug abuse and addiction, and H.R. 1065, the Pill Mill Crackdown Act, which would help further eradicate pill mills throughout our Nation. These bills address critical issues that ought to be part of this Congress' effort to craft legislation to assist our States and communities in combating prescription drug abuse.

The toll of destruction and devastation heaped upon America's families and our economy by this epidemic demands that U.S. Congress must act, and act swiftly. So I urge my colleagues to move forward and bring legislation to the floor that will enable our communities to fight back against prescription drug abuse.

Let us act with dispatch and compassion and with an acute understanding of the enormity of the challenge before us. The future of our families and children and the entire health and well-being of local communities and our Nation depend on us.