WASHINGTON, DC - Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) today headlined a discussion at AEI on the opioid crisis and Congress’ ongoing efforts to combat the epidemic.
The conversation began revisiting legislation passed last Congress to combat the crisis - the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) and the 21st Century Cures Act. Chairman Walden highlighted oversight efforts to ensure implementation of both laws is going smoothly, and spoke to #SubOversight ’s ongoing investigations into pill dumping and patient brokering.
Chairman Walden gave a status update on the bipartisan investigation into alleged pill dumping in the state of West Virginia, highlighting small communities that received extremely high amounts of opioids, and continued to sound the alarm on the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) role in the committee’s investigation, explaining how they continue to stonewall basic information requests.
The chairman also highlighted “Member Day, " and legislative ideas that are spurring upcoming committee activity, saying the committee will continue to take a “multi-faceted approach" - that will include both investigating and legislating.
