Letter

Excerpt: “We are concerned that while the nation, rightly so, is devoting much of its attention and resources to the opioid epidemic, another epidemic—this one involving cocaine and methamphetamine—is on the rise,” the bipartisan Committee leaders wrote in their letters. “We remain committed to advance treatment, improve prevention, protect communities, and bolster efforts to fight deadly illicit drugs like opioids and fentanyl. However, our country’s fight against illicit substances must be multi-faceted and we want to ensure that the appropriate attention and resources are devoted to combat these other substances...

Excerpt: "We are continuing our work investigating the causes and effects of the opioid epidemic. Last Congress, the Committee on Energy and Commerce began bipartisan investigations into fentanyl, opioid manufacturing, opioid distribution, and the substance use disorder treatment industry," the leaders write in the letters. "We write today to reactivate the investigation started on August 2, 2018, that examined potential breakdowns in the controlled substances supply chain, which may have contributed to the nation’s opioid epidemic, and the role of certain opioid manufacturers in such potential breakdowns."  

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Excerpt: "Over the past year, the Committee has taken several bipartisan steps to hold patients harmless in situations where they, through no fault of their own, receive a surprise bill from an out-of-network health care provider," Walden, Pallone, Alexander, and Murray write in the letters. "We are concerned about the impact of surprise billing on the nation’s rising health care costs and the devastating effect that the practice is having on Americans. Therefore, we request your assistance to understand better why surprise billing occurs, the policies and practices that...

Excerpt: "We write to request that the Committee on Energy and Commerce hold a hearing to review legislative initiatives aimed at improving federally-sanctioned research on cannabis, such as H.R. 171, Legitimate Use of Medicinal Marihuana Act (LUMMA); H.R. 601, Medical Cannabis Research Act of 2019; and H.R.3797, Medical Marijuana Research Act of 2019.  It is critical that the Committee review the current state of cannabis research and hear from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse...