Bills to Combat Opioid Crisis Advance to House of Representatives
In Medford, I stood alongside parents who have been personally impacted by opioid abuse, as well as local leaders working to end this scourge in our communities, to announce a legislative package to combat the opioid crisis.
We are pushing forward in the fight against the opioid crisis in Oregon and across the country. In Medford, I announced a legislative package that moved through the Energy and Commerce Committee -- where I serve as Chairman -- which will help address this nationwide scourge. I stood alongside parents whose children have struggled with addiction, and local leaders who are working to address opioid abuse in our communities. They are truly on the front lines of this fight in Oregon, and their input is crucial to our efforts to save lives.
In Medford, I heard from a father who described the troubling experience he had when his son was seeking treatment for addiction at a recovery center in another state that he felt was just looking to cash a check -- not care for his loved one. That’s why we advanced legislation at the Energy and Commerce Committee to develop, publish, and disseminate best practices for operating recovery housing to address current problems in the treatment industry, including the prevalence of bad actors known as “patient brokers”. Patient brokers seek to profit from the recruitment of patients seeking treatment for addiction, and I am leading investigations to crack down on these individuals who seek to exploit a family’s need for help. Learn more about our investigations here.
We also advanced legislation to improve access to treatment for patients in rural and underserved communities. At roundtables across Oregon, I’ve heard from families about the difficulty finding quality addiction treatment in rural areas. Legislation we advanced through our committee will improve access to telemedicine services, which will allow patients to seek treatment for their addiction regardless of where they live.
These are just the highlights of more than 50 pieces of legislation we’ve advanced through the Energy and Commerce Committee this month. These bills -- nearly all of which were passed unanimously -- will receive a vote in the House of Representatives in June. With more than 100 Americans dying every day from opioid overdose, patients and families in Oregon cannot wait any longer. That is why we are taking strong action to combat the opioid crisis, and you can learn more about our efforts here.
Congress takes aim at opioid addiction
With opioid addiction and overdose deaths hitting Southern Oregon and the rest of America, U.S. Rep. Greg Walden announced Monday that Congress is working on a flurry of bipartisan bills to combat the problem.
Click here to read more from the Medford Mail Tribune.
Drug Distributors Answer Questions about Their Role in Opioid Crisis
Drug distributor CEOs are sworn in at Energy and Commerce hearing to explain their role in the deadly opioid crisis. Learn more about our hearing here.
As we continue our year-long, bipartisan investigation into alleged opioid pill dumping in rural communities, I recently pressed the nation’s top drug distributors for answers as to their role in the opioid crisis. During a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, I stressed the need for drug distributors to recognize their responsibility to help combat the crisis.
There is no logical explanation for why a town of approximately 400 people would receive 9 million opioid pills in two years. Or why a single pharmacy in a town of about 1,800 people would receive nearly 17 million opioid pills in a decade. Then there are the two pharmacies in a nearby town of 2,900 people, which received nearly 21 million opioids in the same time frame. While these cases occurred in West Virginia, the findings of our investigation will have implications for communities in Oregon and across the country.
Stemming the tide begins with correcting the practices and problems that led to the spread of the crisis in the first place, which is the goal of our investigation. To learn more about our hearing, please click here.
Rep. Walden Takes on Opioid Crisis
Click here to watch coverage from KOIN 6 News.
House Advances Landmark Legislation to Clean Up Nuclear Waste, Including at Hanford
Speaking on the House floor, I called for action to help clean up efforts at the Hanford Site. To view my full speech, please click here.
For communities along the Columbia River, nuclear waste sitting at the Hanford Site is a worrisome neighbor. I’ve met with people throughout the region and brought Secretary of Energy Rick Perry to the Hanford Site to see firsthand the cleanup efforts underway. We heard one message loud and clear: it’s time to get this waste out of our community.
That’s why I’ve helped lead the effort -- first in the Energy and Commerce Committee and then in the House -- to pass landmark nuclear waste policy reform. Our committee’s work received a whopping bipartisan vote of 340-72 recently. The Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act (H.R. 3053) originated in my committee, provides practical reforms to the nation’s nuclear waste management policy, and reinstates Yucca Mountain as the cornerstone of the country’s nuclear waste disposal.
Reports indicate that important progress is being made to immobilize nuclear waste from the Hanford Site in glass cylinders, which is the most viable option for nuclear waste cleanup. Our legislation will ensure these glass cylinders end up at the Yucca Mountain repository, deep in the Nevada desert, where scientists tells us they can safely store this hazardous material for a million years.
This bipartisan legislation is good for communities around the country and their safety, good for consumers and fiscal sanity, good for the environment for secure storage, good for taxpayers and good for our national security as well. Learn more here.
A Safe Place for Hanford’s Waste
… Fifty-six million gallons of Cold War era toxic, nuclear waste are sitting in corroding and leaking metal tanks. The threat of potential environmental disaster and pollution persists in the minds of Oregonians and people throughout the Pacific Northwest.
I was born in The Dalles and live in Hood River, so the Columbia River has always been part of my life. I know all too well the issues at Hanford and the slow cleanup from the federal government. We’ve even been misled at times, but, finally, it appears they’re making progress at the site.
Click here to read my op-ed column in the East Oregonian.
House Passes Plan to Improve Care for Oregon Veterans
The House of Representative overwhelmingly passed legislation to improve the timeliness of care Oregon veterans receive at the VA. Click here to view my speech on the House floor about the importance of this legislation, which I helped draft.
Improving the care Oregon veterans receive at the VA continues to be a top priority of mine in Congress. Last week, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation that included my plan to unburden VA doctors by bringing medical scribes into the VA system, which will allow medical providers to see more patients in a timely manner. You can read more about this legislation here.
Research in the private sector has shown that allowing scribes to handle electronic health records allows medical providers to do what they do best: treat their patients. I have heard from officials at both the White City and Bend VA facilities, and veterans themselves, that implementing a scribes program will help improve the care Oregon veterans receive.
Importantly, my plan was included in a broader legislative package called the VA MISSION Act that expands the VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers to pre-9/11 veterans who suffered a serious injury in the line of duty, creates a permanent path to increase veterans' access to see doctors in the community and reduce wait times, and provides funding for the Veterans Choice Program (Choice).
We owe it to our veterans to ensure they are receiving the care and support they deserve at the VA, and this legislation will help ensure that happens. Click here to learn more.
House OKs Walden bill to bring scribes into VA system
A plan introduced by Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., to improve the care veterans receive at the Veterans Administration is one step closer to being sent to the president’s desk.
On Wednesday, the House passed the VA MISSION Act (S. 2372) by a bipartisan vote of 347-70. This legislative package includes the VA Medical Scribe Pilot Act, a bill co-authored by Walden to help unburden VA doctors by bringing medical scribes into the VA system, which will allow them to see more patients in a timely manner.
Click here to read more from News Channel 21 in Bend.
Bend Police Department Recognized During National Police Week
What an honor to meet with members of the Bend Police Department who were in Washington, D.C. for National Police Week.
It is always a privilege to meet with members of the law enforcement community, but that was especially true during National Police Week when members of the Bend Police Department participated in this national recognition. The Department received an award for the implementation of an officer wellness program called the Johnny Lawrence Project.
The Johnny Lawrence Project is named after Sergeant John Lawrence, who served with the Bend Police Department and passed away in 2014. Sergeant Lawrence’s legacy of service lives on through this program that improves officers’ well-being by reducing stress, increasing fitness, and actively promoting a healthier lifestyle, and his name is now inscribed in stone at the Law Enforcement Wall in Washington, D.C.
Thank you to Sergeant Lawrence, the entire Bend Police Department, and police officers around the country who put their lives on the line every single day to keep the peace and protect our communities.
Phoenix High School Sophomore Wins Congressional Art Competition
“Blueberries” a watercolor painting by sophomore Noor Akil, of Phoenix High School, is the winner of the Congressional Art Competition for Oregon’s Second District
Congratulations to Noor Akil, a sophomore at Phoenix High School, for winning the Congressional Art Competition for Oregon’s Second District! Noor’s painting “Blueberries” was selected by a panel of local art professors and artists out of 70 entries from students around southern, central, and eastern Oregon. Her art will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol among the best student artwork in the nation, where it will be seen by members of Congress and visitors from around the world. Special thanks to all the art teachers from high schools around the state for encouraging their students to participate, and to this year’s outstanding judges for doing the difficult work of choosing our winner out of so many great entries.
The Congressional Art Competition is a tremendous opportunity for young Oregonians interested in art to showcase their talents. To learn more about the regional winners from this year’s competition, and how to participate in future Congressional Art Competitions, please click here.
On a final note, I was in Condon Saturday to pay final respects to one of the real leaders of the Oregon wheat industry, my long-time friend, Earl Pryor who passed away earlier this month at 92. Earl grew up in Condon and farmed and ranched there his whole life, other than when he served in the military during World War II. I don’t think there was a state or national commission involving wheat that he didn’t help lead in one capacity or another. Moreover, he believed deeply in giving back to his community, state and country. To his wife, Laura (herself a former Gilliam County Judge) and the extended family, I was proud to call Earl a friend. He left this land and his community better than he found it.
That’s all for this update. Remember, you can always keep in touch with me via email, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
It is an honor to represent you in the U.S. Congress.
Best regards,
Greg Walden
U.S. Representative
Oregon's Second District
