The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, chaired by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, April 23, 2015, at 10:15 a.m. in room 2322 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled, “Combatting the Opioid Abuse Epidemic: Professional and Academic Perspectives."
The subcommittee next week will continue its review of the growing and complex threat of prescription drug and heroin abuse. Subcommittee members will hear testimony from academics and other experts about treatment options currently available and best practices for those suffering from addiction and abuse. The subcommittee began its review of this threat last year, and last month the subcommittee held a hearing to understand the challenges of this problem at the state and local level.
“We are in the grips of an addiction epidemic that claims the lives of 120 Americans each day. In just over a decade, the number of prescription drug overdose deaths has increased nearly threefold and the number of heroin overdose deaths has increased nearly fivefold. It is nothing less than a public health crisis. As part of our ongoing series of hearings on turning the tide of addiction, we look forward to hearing from these frontline professionals on current treatment options as we strive towards a new paradigm of care to transform lives," said Chairman Murphy.
The witness list is available online here. A Majority Memorandum and witness testimony will be available at the same link as they are posted.
