{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mckinley.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=280", "McKinley Hosts Morgantown Forum on Opioid Epidemic in Rural America", "2017-12-05", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "WV", "David McKinley", "M001180", "mckinley.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Last night, Congressman David B. McKinley, P.E., (WV-1) hosted a public forum on efforts to combat the opioid epidemic in Morgantown. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing in October with the federal agencies charged with overseeing efforts to combat the opioid crisis. Last night's forum recreated this discussion for constituents in the First District. \r\n          share:\r\n          f \r\n          t \r\n        \r\n      \r\n      Last night, Congressman David B. McKinley, P.E., (WV-1) hosted a public forum on efforts to combat the opioid epidemic in Morgantown. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing in October with the federal agencies charged with overseeing efforts to combat the opioid crisis. Last night's forum recreated this discussion for constituents in the First District. West Virginia is the epicenter of the opioid crisis sweeping the nation. This epidemic is ravaging rural states like ours, which is why we organized this forum. Unfortunately, due to a last-minute change in schedule, we had votes in the House to move towards tax reform, and I was unable to be there in person. My staff gathered constituent feedback so that we can take action in Washington, said McKinley. The key takeaways from the forum are: rural communities don't have the resources to apply for the federal grants available to larger cities; there is a shortage in treatment options and space at treatment facilities for those affected by opioid addiction; and there needs to be better training for law enforcement on how to handle overdoses and get the addict the necessary treatment. It's essential that Congress finds solutions to these issues so that rural states, like West Virginia, are able to address this growing epidemic, McKinley said. Thank you to the panelists and attendees who showed up to listen and participate. It's unfortunate that a vocal minority chose to be disruptive at the event. This is a serious issue that is killing West Virginia's citizens at a higher rate than any other state in the nation. Public forums like these aren't a time for political grandstanding. This is a serious problem that requires serious solutions. This can't be achieved without the ability to have a civil discussion, added McKinley. The panel for the forum included leaders from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the West Virginia Office of Drug Control Policy, West Virginia University and local treatment providers from the First District. Background  The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has an ongoing investigating into the extreme level of opioid pill dumping in West Virginia. One pharmacy in Kermit, a town with a population of 392, received nine million opioid pills in a span of two years. In the past six years, 780 million opioid pills have been shipped to West Virginia, which amounts to 433 pills for every man, woman and child in the state. Rep. McKinley joined Energy and Commerce Committee leadership on two letters in May and October asking the DEA and drug distributors for information on these shipments. The DEA hasn't sent the requested information.  McKinley has participated in four previous Energy and Commerce, Oversight and Investigations subcommittee hearings on the problem of prescription drugs and opioid abuse in the 114th Congress. He has also hosted 15 drug abuse roundtables throughout West Virginia's First District.  In March, the House passed H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act that would repeal and replace Obamacare. Contained in the legislation was a $15 billion provision to fund state efforts at substance abuse and mental health treatment.  The House passed S. 524, the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act (CARA), legislation providing federal resources to states and local law enforcement agencies to better fight the drug abuse and opioid addiction epidemic. The bill was signed into law in July 2016 and included 4 McKinley provisions: o A rural voice for the new inter-agency task force that will review, modify, and update practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication o A directive to the task force that identifies and researches better alternatives to non-opioid forms of pain management o Requires the Attorney General to consider a community's prevalence of opioid abuse and related deaths when awarding grants to states to combat opioid epidemic o Takes a step towards strengthening real time data reporting on substance abuse at the local, state, and federal levels (for veterans only)  The House passed H.R. 34, the 21st Century Cures Act, legislation that included an additional $970 million over a two-year period for opioid prevention and treatment programs. This funding is awarded to states based on number of opioid overdose death and number of patients awaiting opioid abuse disorder treatment. This bill was signed into law in December 2016.  McKinley authored the Congressional letter to House appropriators in support of at least $250 million for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program. During the FY18 appropriations the House passed H. Amdt. 439, which increased HIDTA funding by $6 million. The HIDTA program works to fight the drug epidemic which is sweeping not only the U.S., but in particular West Virginia. To view McKinley's questions in the hearing, click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mckinley.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=280"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.464769011363387, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}