Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5473) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to update or issue one or more guidances addressing alternative methods for data collection on opioid sparing and inclusion of such data in product labeling, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in favor of this legislation, and I want to thank Representatives Comstock and Lujan for their leadership on it.

This bill would take steps to facilitate the development of products that reduce, replace, or prevent the use of opioids. Specifically, this legislation will direct the FDA to hold a public meeting and update the agency's guidance on opioid sparing data that can be used to support updated product labeling and claims.

For many Americans, Mr. Speaker, dealing with chronic or acute pain, there are limited alternatives to opioids, but for some patients, there may be therapeutic alternatives which do not share the same risks inherent in opioid use. This bill will facilitate the process of getting information to providers and patients at a critical juncture in their treatment.

By reducing the need to start an opioid, we can stop addiction before it starts, and we can save countless lives in the process. So I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this narrowly tailored, commonsense, and noncontroversial measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers on this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers on this legislation. I urge my colleagues to support it.

I commend the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Ben Ray Lujan) and the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Comstock) for their tireless work on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3331) to amend title XI of the Social Security Act to promote testing of incentive payments for behavioral health providers for adoption and use of certified electronic health record technology, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend Representative Jenkins, who is here and going to speak in a moment; Representative Matsui, who is also here and going to speak in a moment; Representative Mullin; and others who are working together on this bill.

H.R. 3331 will open an opportunity to accelerate the use of electronic health records for behavioral health providers. Behavioral health providers were left out of the HITECH incentives, leading to a lower rate of adoption and creating a gap in continuity of care at a point when it is most needed.

If there is one place you don't want a data-drop in care provided it is with those who have sought care, but their doctors don't know about it because they don't have the technology they need. No patient should face the risks of being rerouted to opioids because their provider did not have the full picture of a patient's history.

During the thorough legislative process the Energy and Commerce Committee has engaged in to get here today, we have heard from several witnesses and stakeholders on the importance of better utilizing technology. So it is a natural step to let CMMI test the impact of connecting behavioral health providers with the rest of the healthcare community.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 3331.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Energy and Commerce,

Washington, DC, June 7, 2018.

Hon. Kevin Brady,

Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Brady: On May 9 and 17, 2018, the Committee

on Energy and Commerce ordered favorably reported over 50

bills to address the opioid epidemic facing communities

across our nation. Several of the bills were also referred to

the Committee on Ways and Means.

I ask that the Committee on Ways and Means not insist on

its referral of the following bills so that they may be

scheduled for consideration by the Majority Leader:

H.R. 1925, At-Risk Youth Medicaid Protection Act of 2017;

H.R. 3331, To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to

promote testing of incentive payments for behavioral health

providers for adoption and use of certified electronic health

record technology;

H.R. 3528, Every Prescription Conveyed Securely Act;

H.R. 4841, Standardizing Electronic Prior Authorization for

Safe Prescribing Act of 2018;

H.R. 5582, Abuse Deterrent Access Act of 2018;

H.R. 5590, Opioid Addiction Action Plan Act;

H.R. 5603, Access to Telehealth Services for Opioid Use

Disorder;

H.R. 5605, Advancing High Quality Treatment for Opioid Use

Disorders in Medicare Act;

H.R. 5675, To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act

to require prescription drug plan sponsors under the Medicare

program to establish drug management programs for at-risk

beneficiaries;

H.R. 5684, Protecting Seniors from Opioid Abuse Act;

H.R. 5685, Medicare Opioid Safety Education Act;

H.R. 5686, Medicare Clear Health Options in Care for

Enrollees (CHOICE) Act;

H.R. 5715, Strengthening Partnerships to Prevent Opioid

Abuse Act;

H.R. 5716, Commit to Opioid Medical Prescriber

Accountability and Safety for Seniors (COMPASS) Act;

H.R. 5796, Responsible Education Achieves Care and Healthy

Outcomes for Users' Treatment (REACH OUT) Act of 2018;

H.R. 5798, Opioid Screening and Chronic Pain Management

Alternatives for Seniors Act;

H.R. 5804, Post-Surgical Injections as an Opioid

Alternative Act; and

H.R. 5809, Postoperative Opioid Prevention Act of 2018.

This concession in no way affects your jurisdiction over

the subject matter of these bills, and it will not serve as

precedent for future referrals. In addition, should a

conference on the bills be necessary, I would support your

request to have the Committee on Ways and Means on the

conference committee. Finally, I would be pleased to include

this letter and your response in the bill reports and the

Congressional Record.

Thank you for your consideration of my request and for the

extraordinary cooperation shown by you and your staff over

matters of shared jurisdiction. I look forward to further

opportunities to work with you this Congress.

Sincerely,

Greg Walden,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Kansas (Ms. Jenkins), who has been a real leader on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers, so I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Members on both sides for their good work on this legislation. I urge passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4284) to establish a Federal Coordinator within the Department of Health and Human Services, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 4284, the Indexing Narcotics, Fentanyl, and Opioid Act of 2018, more easily known as the INFO Act.

This legislation will facilitate the linking of all nationwide health efforts and strategies to combat the opioid crisis into one place, as well as create an interagency substance abuse disorder coordinating committee to review and coordinate research, services, and prevention activities across all relevant Federal agencies. This is going to be a tremendous resource for patients, families, and local communities and their leaders. I want to thank my colleague from Ohio (Mr. Latta) for leading this important initiative.

I think all of us in our districts, Mr. Speaker, have heard directly from people saying: I don't know what resources are there at the Federal level. I don't know where to go access it. Can't you do something?

That is why Mr. Latta, who chairs our Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, rose to the challenge and put together this piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta) to discuss the importance of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, would encourage our colleagues to support this fine piece of legislation and, again, commend its authors for doing the good work that will help so many in our districts.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4684) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to publish and disseminate best practices for operating a recovery housing, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials into the Record on the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 4684, Ensuring Access to Quality Sober Living Act of 2018.

This legislation will require the Department of Health and Human Services to develop and disseminate best practices for operating recovery housing.

We heard a lot about these issues in the course of our investigation and in our legislative work. Recently, an increasing number of reports have revealed the nefarious practice of patient brokering. This is where individuals known as ``patient brokers'' treat men and women with a substance use disorder as a commodity. They push them to seek treatment at certain outpatient facilities and to live at affiliated recovery residences while undergoing treatment.

In exchange for steering patients towards specific facilities and housing, patient brokers then receive generous financial kickbacks. Oftentimes, the residence and the treatment center involved in the kickback scheme lack any oversight, transparency, or accountability. This legislation will help ensure that recovery residences maintain safe and supportive environments for those who are in recovery.

I would like to thank my California colleagues, Judy Chu, Mimi Walters, and Raul Ruiz, along with Florida Representative Gus Bilirakis, for addressing this important issue and bringing this legislation to the committee and to the floor.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5800) to require the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission to conduct an exploratory study and report on requirements applicable to and practices of institutions for mental diseases under the Medicaid program.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, this bill, sponsored by my colleagues, Representatives Upton, Walters, Blackburn, and myself, requires the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, known as MACPAC, to submit to Congress by January 1, 2020, a report about the services furnished to Medicaid enrollees who are patients in an IMD, that is, an institute of mental disease.

As we know, an IMD is a facility of more than 16 beds that is primarily engaged in providing diagnosis, treatment, or care of persons with mental diseases, including treatment for individuals with substance use disorder.

Now, since the 1960s, Medicaid's IMD exclusion has limited the circumstances under which Federal Medicaid matching funds are available for inpatient mental healthcare. This means that Medicaid beneficiaries with mental health or substance use disorders are statutorily barred from receiving care in an IMD.

While Medicaid has the IMD exclusion, there is great need for this care. According to SAMHSA's 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, about 8 million people--8 million, Mr. Speaker--had a mental disorder and a substance use disorder, also known as co-occurring mental and substance use disorders.

So where do Medicaid beneficiaries get the inpatient care they need? That is the question.

First, States can provide Medicaid coverage for services rendered in facilities that do not meet the definition of an IMD, such as facilities with 16 or fewer beds, and facilities that are not primarily engaged in providing care to individuals with mental diseases.

Second, States can get a waiver to allow for IMD services to be reimbursed. However, as we all know, waivers take a lot of time, and not all States have them.

So because of these complications, there is a great variation, and, frankly, little information on IMD services. That information is limited to one GAO report about types of institutional care.

The goal of this legislation is to better help Congress and CMS understand how current Medicaid dollars are being used to provide care for patients with substance use disorder and mental health disease in an IMD. This bill seeks to identify gaps in our knowledge about IMDs and leverage MACPAC's research capabilities to help address these gaps.

Given the broad bipartisan interest in ensuring patients have access to the full continuum of care, we want to ensure Congress and CMS understand how Medicaid dollars for services are being used, whether that is under a waiver, under managed care, or under fee-for-service Medicaid.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton), the former chairman of the full committee, the chairman of the Energy Subcommittee, who was very instrumental in this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I don't believe I have any other speakers on this legislation, so I would urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5009) to include information concerning a patient's opioid addiction in certain medical records, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 5009. This is known as Jessie's Law, and it is written in memory of Michigan resident Jessie Grubb, who tragically died of an opioid overdose in 2016.

This legislation will help ensure medical professionals have access to a consenting patient's complete health information when making treatment decisions. This is critical to ensure that mistakes, such as the one that tragically happened to Jessie Grubb, never ever, ever happen again.

This bill also incorporates the language of H.R. 5695, known as Emmett's Law, which would require the Department of Health and Human Services to develop best practices for healthcare providers on permitted disclosures of medical records during emergencies with families, caregivers, and other healthcare providers.

I thank my colleagues from Michigan, Representatives Tim Walberg and Debbie Dingell, for leading this important initiative, along with the collaboration and support of Representatives Evan Jenkins, Carol Shea- Porter, Tom MacArthur, Vicky Hartzler, Bob Latta, and David McKinley. They have all put a lot of time and effort into this to solve a problem many of us have encountered in our States and our districts.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg), an author of this incredibly important piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation. I thank the Members from Michigan who brought it to our attention, and worked with the full Energy and Commerce Committee in bringing it to your disposal here on the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5041) to amend the Controlled Substances Act to authorize the employees of a hospice program to handle controlled substances in the residence of a deceased hospice patient to assist in disposal, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, one of the best ways we can fight the opioid crisis is by decreasing diversion of prescription drugs. This bill does just that, giving hospice employees new tools to dispose of unused medications on-site after a patient's death.

During the committee process, several thoughtful amendments were offered to perfect this language. For example, one clarified that the training will be conducted by the hospice program, not the Federal Government.

Another added a recordkeeping standard for hospice programs to maintain information within patients' clinical charts of the controlled substance dosage, number of pills, and the way it is disposed of.

And finally, a technical amendment incorporated comments from the

Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers on this matter, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers on this matter. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5102) to amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize a loan repayment program for substance use disorder treatment employees, and for other purposes.

I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials into the Record on the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 5102. This is the Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Act. It is legislation that would create a loan repayment program for substance use disorder treatment providers.

Serious workforce shortages exist for all health professions across the United States. We know that. But a delay in addiction treatment for a patient with substance use disorder can be a life-or-death situation.

By offering student loan repayment for those who agree to work as a substance use disorder treatment professional in an underserved area, this bill encourages more people to enter the substance use disorder treatment field and get critical services to areas that are seriously in dire need of treatment.

I would like to thank my colleagues, Representatives Katherine Clark, Hal Rogers, John Sarbanes, and Brett Guthrie, for leading this important initiative. It is brought to you from your Energy and Commerce Committee with a unanimous vote.

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

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

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

Before I recognize my colleague from Kentucky, I just want to say, Mr. Rogers has spent many, many years leading nationally not only here in the Congress, but nationally and in Kentucky on this issue of addiction and the scourge of opioids as they have flooded into our area. His leadership has been very, very valuable in this endeavor.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would do the same, urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5176) to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide coordinated care to patients who have experienced a non- fatal overdose after emergency room discharge, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials into the Record on the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 5176, the Preventing Overdoses While in Emergency Rooms Act, or the POWER Act. This legislation will provide needed resources to help hospitals, health departments, and health systems to develop discharge protocols for patients who have had an opioid overdose, such as the provision of naloxone upon discharge, and referrals to treatment and other services that best fit the patients' needs.

By putting rapid referral systems in place, we can better place those presenting with an overdose in evidence-based treatment and get patients on the road to recovery.

I want to thank my colleagues, Representatives David McKinley of West Virginia and Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania, for leading this initiative. I am going to yield to my colleague from West Virginia, but before I do, I just want to say what a leader David McKinley has been on this issue involving opioids.

We have met on countless occasions. He has brought many initiatives to our committee. While he is the lead on this bill, he has been instrumental on nearly all the bills that we have considered and has been a tireless advocate for the people of West Virginia in this matter.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. McKinley).

Mr. Speaker, I just want to, again, thank our leaders on this effort, Mr. Doyle and certainly Mr. McKinley. I would encourage passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5228) to strengthen the authorities of the Food and Drug Administration to address counterfeit drugs, illegal and synthetic opioids, and opioid-like substances, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of this legislation, and I want to commend my friend and ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey. He has worked tirelessly on this very important policy.

Hundreds of millions of parcels containing illicit or unapproved drugs enter the United States supply chain each year, and they do it through international mail facilities. Through the mail, Mr. Speaker.

That poses a major threat to public health. These parcels are often difficult to identify as they contain little or no labeling, and the Food and Drug Administration's current detention and destruction authorities over these parcels, turns out, it is pretty limited.

H.R. 5228 seeks to strengthen FDA's authority to refuse and destroy substances identified through these international mail facilities and improve enforcement mechanisms available to the agency to combat the influx of illegally manufactured opioids into the country.

I know, in my conversations with Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who heads the FDA, he has added the resources he could find within his agency and has brought many of these issues to our attention. He has been a real leader on this issue for the Trump administration, and I thank him for his work.

But it is clear this bipartisan legislation that Mr. Pallone brings to us today is essential as we join together to interdict and stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage passage of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I just want to again say, as my friend and colleague from New Jersey has outlined, you understand the importance of why we need to make these changes under the law. I again commend him for his work on this.

I encourage all my colleagues to support this very critical piece of legislation. This could do more to stop the flow of this illegal fentanyl and the death it brings to our country than any other thing we can do.

I commend the gentleman for his work on this. I encourage support of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5261) to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for regional centers of excellence in substance use disorder education, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 5261. This is the Treatment, Education, and Community Help to Combat Addiction Act, or more easily known as the TEACH to Combat Addiction Act. This legislation will designate and support centers of excellence or institutions of learning that have championed substance use disorder treatment.

Improving how professionals are taught to effectively teach substance use disorder will also increase access to evidence-based treatment, in other

words, treatments that will work and that we can prove will work.

I want to thank my colleagues, Representative Bill Johnson and Paul Tonko, for leading this bipartisan and really important initiative.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Johnson), the leader on our committee, to talk more about his legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I don't have any other speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to commend our colleagues for bringing this matter to our attention and commend them on the legislation we are moving forward today in a bipartisan way. I encourage our colleagues to vote for it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5272) to ensure that programs and activities that are funded by a grant, cooperative agreement, loan, or loan guarantee from the Department of Health and Human Services, and whose purpose is to prevent or treat a mental health or substance use disorder, are evidence-based, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials into the Record on this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong support of H.R. 5272. This is a bill that helps ensure that federally funded programs and activities that prevent or

treat health or substance use disorder are evidence-based. What a concept.

H.R. 5272 will enhance the work of the National Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Laboratory by directing the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, SAMHSA, to provide guidance for entities applying for grants, including guidance on how best to explain the rationale for a given program or activity.

By encouraging the funding of evidence-based interventions and the replication of promising or effective practices, we believe we can help ensure that local organizations, health departments, nonprofits, and substance use disorder treatment providers have the tools and evidence necessary to implement solutions that work.

I would like to thank Representatives Steve Stivers and Eliot Engel for leading this important and, again, bipartisan initiative.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Stivers), who has been a real advocate on these and other issues dealing with this opioid epidemic.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie), who is the vice chair of our Health Subcommittee and has been a leader on this opioid issue along with other healthcare issues to improve the lives of American citizens and especially those in his home State and district.

Mr. Speaker, this is more good, bipartisan work here attacking this opioid epidemic. I would encourage my colleagues to support this piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5329) to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize and enhance the poison center national toll-free number, national media campaign, and grant program, and for other purposes, as amended.

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 into the Record on the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 5329, the Poison Center Network Enhancement Act. This is legislation that will reauthorize the national network of poison control centers.

Poison control centers are on the front lines of the opioid crisis. They offer free, confidential, expert medical advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By reauthorizing this essential system resource, we will help reduce visits to the emergency rooms and save countless lives.

I want to thank the leadership of Representative Susan Brooks and Eliot Engel, my colleagues, along with Representatives Joe Barton and Diana DeGette, who worked hard on this legislation to get it right and get it to the floor in a bipartisan manner and, I would dare say, out of committee in a unanimous vote.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Brooks), a leader in this effort.

Mr. Speaker, this is more important bipartisan legislation moving forward. I have no other speakers. I would encourage passage of the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5353) to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize and expand a program of surveillance and education, carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, regarding infections associated with injection drug use, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5353, Eliminating Opioid Related Infectious Diseases Act, which will authorize the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control, to work with States to improve education, surveillance, and treatment of infections associated with injection drug use.

Injection drug use is a well-known route for the transmission of blood-borne infections, particularly human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, and hepatitis. By supporting a national elimination initiative, H.R. 5353 will help reduce the serious, costly, and life-threatening infections that can be associated with illicit drug use.

I want to thank my colleague, Leonard Lance from New Jersey. He has been a real leader in this effort, bringing this to our attention. He wasn't alone. Representative Joe Kennedy, Chris Collins, Anna Eshoo, Joe Barton, and Doris Matsui also were very much involved in the creation of this legislative initiative.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance) to speak on his legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers as well. I thank our colleagues for their good work on this bipartisan legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.