DUMP Opioids Act

Mr. President, you are aware, as we all are, of the scourge of opioid abuse in this country. It is horrible. It is terrible. We sometimes lose as many as 50,000 of our people a year.

And as you also know, many people who become addicted to opioids don't necessarily buy the opioids on the street. They get the opioids from family and friends. So one of the best things you can do to try to stop the scourge of opioid abuse is to clear out your medicine cabinet so that people aren't tempted to use the drugs. Turn them in, if they have been prescribed to you, and you don't need them any longer.

To make this easier, our DEA, as you know, Mr. President, holds pretty regularly what we call Take Back Days. On a Take Back Day, any person can go into his or her medicine cabinet, find drugs, including opioids, that they are not using anymore, that could be dangerous if abused, and they can take those unused medications and drop them off at a previously announced DEA drop site.

Take Back Day is this Saturday, April 24. I want to encourage all Americans and Louisianans to do this. Go through your medicine cabinet. If you have opioids that have been prescribed to you--legally, of course--and you don't need them any longer, don't just leave them hanging around. Turn them in, please.

But not every day is Take Back Day, and last year Congress, in its wisdom, passed a law, a very good law, instructing the Department of Veterans Affairs to ask--well, actually to require--VA medical centers to have these drop boxes permanently so that American veterans can throw away medications, including but not limited to opioids, that they don't need. And it has worked out really well.

The question that occurred to me after we passed the bill was why limit that kind of access only to our veterans. So I have a bill to basically open up the Veterans Administration drop

boxes for unused drugs, including but not limited to opioids, at VA medical centers to anybody who wants to go get rid of these unused drugs at any time. You don't have to wait until Take Back Day. This would be a permanent program.

The name of the bill is the Dispose Unused Medications and Prescription Opioids Act. And before I offer this bill up, let me just give one more plug. I would remind everyone that this Saturday, April 24, is Take Back Day. If you have unused medications, including opioids, that you want to get rid of, it will have been publicized in your community by the DEA. You can go drop them off, and I hope people will do that.

Mr. President, toward that end, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be discharged from further consideration of my bill, S. 957, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I further ask that the Kennedy substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, that the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 957) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that certain medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs have physical locations for the disposal of controlled substances medications.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on S. 957.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we are bringing up to the floor Senator Kennedy's bill, S. 957, the DUMP Opioids Act. I also want to commend Congresswoman Miller-Meeks and Congressman Trone for their work in introducing a House companion to this legislation.

We have all seen reports of a dramatic increase in accidental and intentional overdose deaths during the pandemic, both among veterans and nonveterans, in our communities. While addressing the factors that lead to substance misuse, we must also act immediately to lower access to controlled substances for those in distress.

I applaud my colleagues for advancing this legislation as one piece in our lethal means safety approach to suicide and accidental death prevention.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has been a leader in decreasing prescribing of opioids and in developing nonopioid forms of pain management. This is vitally important given what we know about the health risks that even prescription opioids pose for veterans and others in our Nation.

At the same time, chronic pain is a challenging, significant, and ongoing concern for many veterans and there are times when opioids are appropriately prescribed and monitored. We need to make sure, however, that people have safe ways to dispose of opioid medications when they are either no longer needed or when they could be used unsafely in a home. This bill ensures that veterans and members of the public may safely dispose of unused controlled substances in special repositories on VA properties on days specifically designated by VA as public take- back days.

The Secretary of the VA has the authority to set appropriate guidelines for safe disposal by members of the public.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting the DUMP Opioids Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing S. 957, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding me time to speak.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of Senator John Kennedy's Dispose of Unused Medications and Prescription Opioids Act, S. 957, or the DUMP Opioids Act.

Earlier this year, President Trump signed the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act into law. Under this law, the VA is required to set up prescription drop boxes on VA campuses so that veterans can safely dispose of unused and excess controlled substance medications. The DUMP Opioids Act directs the Secretary of the VA to designate periods during which anyone, not just veterans, may dispose of unused medications at VA facilities.

In April, I partnered with Congressman David Trone to introduce the House companion to Senator Kennedy's bill, and I am proud to see this bill before the House today.

As a doctor, I have seen firsthand the challenges created by opioid addiction and abuse. The opioid epidemic has hit every corner of the United States, and all of us know someone who has been harmed by addiction.

The DUMP Opioids Act is a simple expansion of current law that will give more Americans access to safe opioid disposal sites. Congress must work in a bipartisan manner and give our constituents the tools they need to tackle this head-on.

America has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic for years, especially over this past year during the pandemic, as illustrated by my colleague from Illinois. Iowa is no exception.

With opioid-related deaths up 35 percent in Iowa over the last year, we need to be more focused than ever on our efforts to both treat and prevent addiction. As a physician, I am proud to do my part to help combat this crisis.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Senator Kennedy for his work with this bill, and I urge all of my colleagues to support S. 957, the DUMP Opioids Act.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 957, the Dispose of Unused Medications and Prescription Opioids Act, or the DUMP Opioids Act.

Last year, Congress passed legislation that would allow veterans to dispose of excess prescription medications at VA medical facilities. The DUMP Opioids Act would allow nonveterans to do the same thing. It would also authorize a VA education campaign to make veterans and nonveterans alike aware of their ability to dispose of leftover medication at the VA.

This bill is sponsored in the Senate by Senator Kennedy and in the House by Congresswoman Miller-Meeks. I am grateful to both of them for their leadership and advocacy on this important issue.

Earlier this month, CDC released data showing that opioid overdose deaths surged throughout the pandemic. In 2020, more than 93,000 Americans died of an overdose. This is an almost 30 percent increase from 2019.

We have to do everything we can to help those suffering from substance abuse disorder to overcome their addiction. One way we can do this is by making controlled substances less readily available. By making it easier for unused opioids and other prescription medication to be disposed of, this bill would help do that.

I hope that every Member will join me in supporting the DUMP Opioids Act.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks), my good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill as well, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on Roll Call No. 219 on the motion to table, I am not recorded because I was fulfilling my Congressional duties at Fort Benning, Georgia. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY.

On Roll Call No. 220 on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 1664, I am not recorded because I was fulfilling my Congressional duties at Fort Benning, Georgia. Had I been present, I would have voted