I have heard far too many devastating stories about the impacts of the opioid crisis on American communities, particularly those in Virginia’s Ninth District.
My colleagues on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and I continue to listen to parents, community leaders and doctors about the losses of their loved ones, friends and patients.
These heartfelt, insightful stories help me and other lawmakers do our jobs better. Thanks to their testimony, we can review policy to see what is working and what is not working.
This legislative practice was on display when I joined an exclusive group of Energy and Commerce Committee Members for a 2023 field hearing that took us to rural Pennsylvania.
The field hearing highlighted the opioid crisis and policy solutions to help fight it.
We heard testimony from a father who lost his daughter to fentanyl poisoning. Fentanyl accounts for much of the uptick in synthetic opioid overdose deaths in the United States.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, deaths from synthetic opioids climbed to nearly 74,000 in 2023.
The field hearing also featured a doctor, a local police chief and a former public official.
Each witness had a unique perspective to share. Many of their perspectives were similar to accounts I had heard in Virginia.
The former public official, Ms. Emily Keller, served as Special Secretary of Opioid Response for Maryland Governor Wes Moore.
Prior to that, Ms. Keller was mayor of Hagerstown, Maryland.
Ms. Keller had a lot of experience overseeing the impacts of opioids on Maryland communities, including the western part of the state known as the Maryland panhandle.
The Maryland panhandle is similar to Virginia’s Ninth District. Much of it is rural, consists part of the Appalachian Mountains and borders several states.
One reason that makes the Maryland panhandle susceptible to opioid issues is because of its close proximity to other states.
Accordingly, it was common to see people traveling from state to state to go see different doctors and request multiple prescription drugs.
Allowing this illegal practice to happen only fueled the opioid crisis and hampered our public health response.
We face similar issues in Southwest Virginia, as we are a gateway to West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina.
As a response to these issues, in 2018, I introduced the Creating Opportunities that Necessitate New and Enhanced Connections That Improve Opioid Navigation Strategies (CONNECTIONS) Act.
My bill helped create the prescription drug monitoring program. The program was meant to bolster the capabilities of states to track the prescribing of prescription drugs both within the state and across state lines.
In addition, my bill helped provide education and awareness campaigns and evidence-based prevention grants.
The CONNECTIONS Act passed the House and later became law as part of the 2018 Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act.
During the field hearing, I had the opportunity to revisit my 2018 CONNECTIONS Act and discuss the prescription drug monitoring program with Ms. Keller.
Ms. Keller testified that she had seen some success with the drug monitoring program!
Her input, along with others, was helpful. With buy-in from local officials, community advocates and others, I introduced the RECONNECTIONS Act of 2023 to continue the authorization of the prescription drug monitoring program
My bill served as a building block for future legislative action. It became a provision as Section 103 of the SUPPORT for Patients & Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025.
The 2025 SUPPORT Act also delivers key treatment opportunities, funds recovery resources and strengthens our public health responses to the opioid epidemic.
It is a strong bill that I supported in the Energy and Commerce Committee and again on the House floor this year.
This December, President Trump signed the SUPPORT Act into law!
This is not the only public health legislative effort of mine to pass Congress this year.
This summer, the HALT Fentanyl Act, of which I was one chief House sponsor, was signed into law by Trump!
The bill permanently designates lethal fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I narcotics to help law enforcement address the scourge of fentanyl in our communities.
I am proud to be a leading sponsor and supporter of SUPPORT and HALT.
As Health Subcommittee Chairman, I am committed to exploring effective solutions that protect American communities from the threats of opioids and help heal those seeking recovery.
