Letter to the Hon. Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation - Drug Testing for Opioids
Letter
Dear Secretary Chao:
We write to urge you to take immediate action to harmonize U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) drug testing regulations with the revised U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs Using Urine, published on January 23, 2017, and effective October 1, 2017. These guidelines would allow DOT to add four prescription opioids to its decades-old drug-testing panel: hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxymorphone, and oxycodone.
Currently, DOT does not require drug testing of safety-sensitive transportation workers for opioid use. DOT only requires a five-panel test to include drugs that HHS authorized and published in a final rule in 1989, almost 30 years ago, such as marijuana, cocaine, and PCP. Yet, we are in the midst of a prescription opioid crisis in America.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S. The CDC estimates that more than 52,000 Americans died of drug overdose in 2016, and it predicts that over 71,000 Americans will die from overdose in 2017. In 2016 alone, it is estimated that 11.8 million Americans engaged in opioid misuse.
Transportation workers are not immune to this crisis, as evidenced by the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) investigation of a 2016 passenger train accident near Chester, Pennsylvania. On April 3, 2016, Amtrak train 89 struck a backhoe used by a maintenance crew performing scheduled track work near Chester. Two maintenance workers were killed and 41 persons aboard the train were treated for injuries. According to the Medical Factual Report prepared for the NTSB, the engineer of Amtrak train 89 tested positive post-accident for cannabinoids, indicating the use of marijuana, and the maintenance workers tested positive for a variety of prescription and non-prescription drugs, including cocaine and oxycodone. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
We understand that DOT issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on January 23, 2017, to adopt the HHS guidelines on opioids. Comments were due more than six months ago, and the NPRM has since languished in this Administration. We strongly urge you to take action now to finalize this rulemaking as a first step toward addressing the opioid crisis.
If you have any questions, please contact me or have your staff contact Ms. Jennifer Homendy of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Democratic staff at (202) 225-3274.
Sincerely,
PETER DeFAZIO ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON
Ranking Member Ranking Member
Committee on Transportation Subcommittee on Highways
and Infrastructure and Transit
RICK LARSEN MICHAEL E. CAPUANO
Ranking Member Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Aviation Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials
GRACE F. NAPOLITANO JOHN GARAMENDI
Ranking Member Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Water Resources Subcommittee on Coast Guard
and Environment and Maritime Transportation
Hank Johnson
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Economic Development,
Public Buildings and Emergency Management
Source