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Conference Report on S. Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016

Floor Speech

Date: July 8, 2016
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Minors and Children Drugs

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Mr. MEEHAN. I thank the chairman for his leadership on this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, the statistics are staggering. We are losing 120 a people a day to opioid abuse.

Earlier this year, southeastern Pennsylvania lost an accomplished young man, John Decker, who succumbed to his battle with addiction. As a teenager, John injured his knee playing basketball. His physician prescribed opioids to manage the pain after surgery. John became addicted to the painkillers and moved on to using heroin.

I introduced the John Thomas Decker Act with the goal of preventing injured youth and adolescent athletes from getting addicted to opioids and turning to heroin. But I use John's name because it is not about statistics; it is to demonstrate that we are talking about real people and struggling families here.

The legislation, which is included in section 104 of the conference report, directs the United States Department of Health and Human Services to study what information and resources are available to youth athletes and their families regarding the dangers of opioid use and abuse, nonopioid treatment options, and how to seek addiction treatment. The Department must report its findings and work with stakeholders to disseminate resources to students, parents, and those involved in treating sports injuries, and that is how this can work together with things that are already happening in the community.

I want to acknowledge what is going on in communities all across the country.

Just last week, I visited Adapt Pharma, a constituent company, in Radnor, Pennsylvania. The company makes a Narcan nasal spray and is providing the antidote to high schools. Adapt Pharma and the National Association of School Nurses are working together to ensure that educational materials are available to students and their families about prescription drug abuse as well as treatment and recovery options that will work perfectly in tandem with this particular section.

So, whether you are young athletes, pregnant mothers, struggling veterans, or suffering families, so many are going to be helped.

I urge my colleagues to stand with the families who have suffered the effects of addiction and support the conference report.

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