Tyler’s Law

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2004) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue guidance on whether hospital emergency departments should implement fentanyl testing as a routine procedure for patients experiencing an overdose, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 2004.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2004, led by the gentleman from California (Mr. Lieu) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta).

Tyler's Law is named after Tyler Shamash, who suffered from a fatal fentanyl poisoning after doctors did not test for fentanyl when he was admitted to the hospital emergency room. This bill would honor Tyler's memory by helping prevent more tragedies and ensuring providers are able to provide the best practices when treating cases of potential drug overdoses.

I encourage my colleagues to vote for this bill. I can't stop, Mr. Speaker, without bringing up his mother, Juli, who has spent tireless hours flying from California to D.C.--sometimes, because of our schedule change, on a moment's notice--to be present for hearings and bringing this story, knowing that it is not going to bring her son back but wanting to prevent other mothers and other people from going through what she has gone through. I appreciate her hard work, and I acknowledge that.

I encourage my colleagues to support this bill to honor his legacy and the

many families who have suffered similarly. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate all of the moms who have been working with us. We really appreciate their hard work. Our sympathies are with them, and we are glad that their children are being honored tonight.

This is final passage, and we have been working on this for quite a while.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on the bill, I look forward to voting for it in just a couple of seconds, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2004, Tyler's Law. This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a study and then to issue guidance to hospitals to test for fentanyl in emergency room screenings.

This may come as a surprise to many. Right now many hospitals do not test for fentanyl in emergency room screenings. This leads to cases where people who walk in the emergency room may not know that they ingested a drug laced with fentanyl, or they may walk out of the emergency room not knowing that they had taken fentanyl and not gotten the right resources. As a result, this could result in preventable deaths.

Tyler, the bill's namesake, is one such case of this testing blind spot. At 19 years old, Tyler's life was cut short when he died from a fentanyl overdose after initially going to the emergency room. He was not tested for fentanyl, and he was discharged. His toxicology screening came back with no indication of fentanyl, and he went home. The next day he returned to the ER and ultimately died from having ingested fentanyl.

Tyler's mom, Juli, came to my office sharing Tyler's tragic story and has been a fierce advocate of ensuring that no family experiences the same kind of devastating loss.

Since then, I have been working closely with Congressman Bob Latta, Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, and our Senate counterparts on getting Tyler's Law passed. However, the real credit goes to Juli. She is here in the gallery today with other parents who also lost their child to fentanyl. She has been present for every step of the progress we have taken this Congress. I thank Juli for her fierce advocacy and for fighting to advance laws that will prevent future fentanyl-related deaths.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill so we can honor Tyler and prevent fentanyl deaths in the future.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 2004, Tyler's Law. This legislation directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study the use of fentanyl testing in hospital emergency departments for patients experiencing an overdose.

As we heard so eloquently from Chairman Guthrie, I, too, thank Tyler's mom for her tireless advocacy and to thank Representative Lieu for his leadership on this legislation and my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee for working to bring the bill to the floor today.

I encourage all my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Lieu).

In closing, Mr. Speaker, for the reasons we have just heard, I encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of Tyler's Law, and I yield back the balance of my time.