To establish an Advisory Committee on Opioids and the Workplace to advise the Secretary of Labor on actions the Department of Labor can take to address the impact of opioid abuse on the workplace.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5892.

In addition to the severe health consequences of substance use disorders, the opioid epidemic has taken a serious toll on the workplace. More than 10 million full-time workers have a substance use disorder. A 2017 survey from the National Safety Council found that 70 percent of employers have seen some effect of prescription drug usage, including absenteeism, impaired or decreased job performance, injuries or near misses, and arrests on or off the job.

When I traveled across northwest Oregon to talk to community members about the opioid crisis, I heard from many employers and employees whose work had been affected by addiction. Oregon's low unemployment rate is resulting in local employers struggling to find qualified personnel. The opioid crisis has weakened our workforce at a time when our economy needs more workers. For instance, a timber company on the coast of Oregon reported that only one applicant passed a drug test during a recent hiring process.

When I hear from people in recovery, many say that they could not continue working while they were struggling with addiction. We must acknowledge that our work and our personal lives are intertwined, that an employer's interest in the health of its employees should not end at the door, and that investing in employees through proactive prevention or flexible support policies can be good for employees and for the bottom line.

An estimated 20 percent of the decline in men's labor force participation over the last 20 years can be attributed to the increase in opioid prescriptions. For women, that number is 25 percent. Sadly, the disease of addiction is affecting people far beyond their homes. If we are going to make any progress in addressing the opioid epidemic, our workplaces must have policies that support affected workers.

This legislation would establish a council to advise the Secretary of Labor on actions the Department of Labor can take to provide informational resources and guidance to address the effects of substance use disorders on the workplace. The advisory council will be comprised of a diverse coalition of stakeholders, including substance use disorder experts, unions, and employers. This includes supporting workers with substance use disorders, as well as those in recovery.

The advisory council would be charged with assessing a range of workplace policies best practices. These identified best practices will benefit employers and employees alike by keeping workers safe, healthy, productive, and on the job.

I also urge my colleagues to support legislation for other workplace policies and protections that are vital for people struggling with substance use disorder, such as paid leave. There is certainly more that we, as policymakers, can do to make sure that workers can access and seek treatment when they need it, and be able to return to their jobs as soon as possible.

Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Lewis and Congressman Cartwright for their work on this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Cartwright), the cosponsor of this important legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the remainder of my time.

Madam Speaker, once again, I thank Congressman Lewis and Congressman Cartwright for their work on H.R. 5892. As we continue with this work, we must recognize that it is much harder for people to be successful in their recovery if they do not have a job. Let's work with our employers and look at the results of this bill that the advisory council will advise us. Let's follow their recommendations.

Madam Speaker, I urge passage of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5892) to establish an Advisory Committee on Opioids and the Workplace to advise the Secretary of Labor on actions the Department of Labor can take to address the impact of opioid abuse on the workplace.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5892.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5892.

The effects of the opioid public health emergency can be seen throughout our local communities, and maybe most acutely in our workplaces.

According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, 70 percent of the almost 15 million Americans misusing drugs, including opioids, are currently employed. Furthermore, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of overdose fatalities on the job has increased by at least 25 percent annually since 2012.

These statistics serve as a reminder that workplaces are not immune from the worsening epidemic and that workplaces can often serve as crucial places to provide outreach and assistance to those who are struggling with opioid addiction.

The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been examining this critical issue.

In February of this year, the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions and the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a joint hearing to examine how the epidemic is affecting workplaces, and to hear from business owners who have taken steps to address problems of substance abuse and addiction in the workplace.

Some of the initiatives these businesses have taken are not only inspiring, but they also show promising results. The U.S. Department of Labor could benefit greatly from more information about the solutions originating from the private sector to address the challenges of maintaining a healthy workforce in the face of the opioid epidemic.

H.R. 5892 will create an advisory committee to make recommendations to the Secretary of Labor on what specific actions the Department of Labor can take to provide informational resources that will help mitigate some of the most harmful effects of opioid abuse in the workplace. The advisory committee will convene twice a year to discuss successful employer initiatives and report best practices, and will sunset after 3 years.

Madam Speaker, this bipartisan bill will be an instrumental part of the greater solution to fight the opioid epidemic and support employers who are working to promote workplace safety and assist with employee recovery.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I, again, reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the remainder of my time.

Madam Speaker, I also thank my Democratic colleagues for their efforts on behalf of this bill as well.

At a time when businesses, large and small, are noticing the effects of this crisis, opioid abuse, on employee health and economic productivity, the active coordination between the Department of Labor and private stakeholders, prompted by this bill, is vital to securing the continued safety of the American workplace.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 5892, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the efforts the House is undertaking this week to combat our Nation's opioid crisis. We will consider dozens of bills this week that are aimed at fighting the crisis next door that affects our families, our friends, and our loved ones.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, there is a nationwide epidemic of heroin and prescription drug abuse that is resulting in drastic increases in addiction rates, overdose deaths, and incarceration. No zip code in this country is immune from this crisis.

Heroin and pain pill addiction does not discriminate on age, race, gender or socioeconomic class. Your neighbor could be using heroin, or so could their high-honors high school student. It is the public health crisis of this generation.

As a senior member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, I want to highlight some of the work that we have done to help combat this pandemic. The committee has collaboratively worked in a bipartisa manner to introduce and support the following bills:

H.R. 5889, which requires Health and Human Services to provide resources to early childhood care and education providers, as well as professionals working with young children, on ways to properly recognize and respond to children impacted by trauma related to substance abuse.

H.R. 5890, which calls on the HHS to re-evaluate plans under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to ensure the safe care of infants affected by prenatal substance abuse.

H.R. 5891 establishes interagency task forces to effectively and efficiently assist families who have been impacted by substance abuse disorders.

H.R. 5892 establishes an Advisory Committee on Opioids and the Workplace to advise the Secretary of Labor on actions the department can take to address the impact of opioid abuse on the workplace.

I am proud to be a cosponsor of all these bills, and I urge my colleagues to support them as well.

Mr. Speaker, the House is working to not only address this crisis, but combat it and overcome it. We will do so through treatment and recovery, through prevention, by protecting our communities, and by fighting fentanyl and other ever-changing synthetic or foreign illicit drugs.

No person can beat addiction alone, and overcoming this epidemic will not only take a community-wide effort, but a nationwide effort, and that is what we are prepared to do.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5892, a bill I am proud to have cosponsored with Representative Lewis.

I thank Congressman Lewis, as well as the Education and the Workforce Committee, for their hard work on this bill.

Madam Speaker, Pennsylvania has the fourth highest rate of death due to drug overdoses in the Nation, and northeastern Pennsylvania, where I represent, has one of the highest rates of fatal drug overdoses in our State. Beyond the statistics are stories of broken families and broken dreams, due to the addiction to and the abuse of these drugs.

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that approximately 91 deaths from opioid overdoses occur every day in our Nation. This epidemic breaks our hearts. But it also hurts our economy. An estimated 20 percent of men's and 25 percent of women's decline in labor force participation between 1999 and 2015 can be attributed to the increase in opioid prescriptions. This is a public health and economic crisis that we have to address right now.

That is why I am so pleased to see the House taking up this legislation. Establishing this advisory council to study the impacts of opioid abuse on the workplace is essential to understanding how damaging this epidemic is, both to individuals and communities.

We know that we must confront this epidemic on all fronts. It is a bill that is an important step towards helping those dealing with substance abuse remain in the workforce.

Our work on opioids has to continue after this week. Our communities have not yet healed from the traumatic losses they have suffered, and we have to continue to focus on this issue if we are to have any hope of adequately addressing the harm to public health that opioid abuse has caused.

Again, I thank Congressman Lewis for his work on this bill, I am proud to join him in that work, and I urge my colleagues in the House of Representatives to support it.