Rep. Jenkins Welcomes President's Opioid Initiative

Statement

U.S. Representative Evan Jenkins (R-W.Va.) issued the following statement today welcoming President Trump's opioid initiative:

"I welcome the president's announcement of new actions and priorities to address the opioid crisis, which has devastated communities and families in West Virginia.

"The president has proposed a bold stance against the worst drug traffickers in our communities, sending a clear message to dealers who knowingly traffic large quantities of deadly drugs. In Huntington, we've seen dealers from Detroit coming to our city to sell drugs laced with fentanyl and carfentanyl -- elephant tranquilizer -- resulting in dozens of overdoses in a matter of hours. We must reclaim our communities and stop traffickers in death from profiting off addiction.

"The president is also embracing prescription drug monitoring programs, and I have introduced legislation to make sure every state monitoring program talks with all the other states in real time. These programs can help prevent overprescribing and doctor shopping -- two activities that fuel the drug crisis. I urge Congress to act quickly to provide the funding and support necessary to make a full 50-state integrated prescription drug monitoring program a reality.

"Many of the illegal drugs flooding communities in West Virginia are coming in from other countries. We must secure our southern border by building the wall, and I helped fund President Trump's request for $1.6 billion for the first phase of the wall. I've also introduced legislation to create a fentanyl trafficking task force, which would strengthen the president's goal of working with China and Mexico to stop the trafficking of heroin and fentanyl.

"Finally, we must use all resources and programs at our disposal to help research non-addictive pain management and provide treatment options for people seeking recovery. I recently brought leaders from the National Institutes of Health to Marshall University to see our research into pain treatment alternatives, and initiatives like this can help lead to pain management options that don't rely on opioids. I also support increased funding and flexibility for coverage of in-patient treatment and expansion of treatment beds to meet a critical need in our state.

"By working together, we can make a difference and help West Virginians reclaim their lives. I will continue to support our president in this fight for the very heart and soul of our state and country."

Rep. Jenkins' Prescription Drug Monitoring Act, H.R. 1854, would focus federal resources on improving the state monitoring programs' effectiveness. States would provide access to their prescription drug monitoring program data to other states, prescribers would check the database before prescribing powerful medications like opioids, and pharmacies would submit prescribing information within 24 hours.

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