Video: Rep. Jenkins Secures Transparency for Opioid Shipment Numbers

Press Release

U.S. Representative Evan Jenkins (R-W.Va.) has secured a requirement for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to make public the number of opioids shipped to states.

Rep. Jenkins' language securing this requirement is included in the Labor and Health and Human Services appropriations bill, which the House Appropriations Committee is expected to pass later on Wednesday.

Rep. Jenkins fought for this provision after seeing how prescription opioids were shipped and prescribed irresponsibly across West Virginia.

"I have one community in my district, Kermit, W.Va., a population of 392 residents, where over a few year period, 9 million hydrocodone pills were shipped into a pharmacy. … Where's the transparency and where is the accountability?" Rep. Jenkins asked at the committee markup.

Rep. Jenkins spoke in support of this important transparency effort. Please click here to watch Rep. Jenkins' remarks.

"So many people this morning have spoken eloquently about the investment and tackling the opioid crisis, but there is something in this bill that will bring about transparency. It's not just about money, it's about government working better for the people, and I appreciate the willingness to add language that aims to make the DOJ and DEA more transparent with its opioid shipping data," Rep. Jenkins said in the committee markup.

The amendment calls on the CDC to include information about controlled substance shipments, overdose rates, and rates of HIV, Hepatitis A, B, and C for states on its website addressing opioid overdoses:

"The committee notes limited information is available which compares controlled substances transactions reported to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with available public health information collected by the CDC. The committee encourages CDC to incorporate on its website addressing opioid overdose, DEA data from the Automated Reports and Consolidated Ordering System Retail Drug Summary Report. The committee further encourages CDC to include an interactive map to view current data provided by the DEA displaying the amount of grams of fentanyl, hydrocodone, oxycodone and other controlled substances that have been shipped to each State. The website should also include accessible and frequently updated CDC data on overdose death rates and the incidence rates of HIV, Hepatitis A, B, and C for each State in an interactive manner that allows users to compare on the same page, the amounts of drugs distributed with public health morbidities. The committee requests an update on this effort in the fiscal year 2020 congressional justification," Rep. Jenkins' language states.

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