releases: https://web.archive.org/web/20131123005042/http://wolf.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=34&itemid=2333
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://web.archive.org/web/20131123005042/http://wolf.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=34&itemid=2333 | Wolf: Tougher Restrictions Needed On Prescription Painkillers | 2013-10-30 | 2013 | 2013-10 | Republican | House | VA | Frank Wolf | W000672 | web.archive.org | legacy | Contact: Jill Shatzen (202) 225-5136 WOLF: TOUGHER RESTRICTIONS NEEDED ON PRESCRIPTION PAINKILLERS Washington, D.C. (October 30, 2013) – Continuing his efforts to fight prescription drug abuse, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) today joined 28 of his colleagues in urging the Secretary of Health and Human Services to put tighter controls on highly addictive pain medications. In a letter to Kathleen Sebelius, the group said the secretary should immediately adopt the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recommendation to regulate prescription painkillers using the active ingredient hydrocodone. The change would reclassify hydrocodone from a Schedule III to a Schedule II drug, putting it in the same category as other opioid painkillers like OxyContin. “Addressing prescription drug abuse needs to be a priority,” Wolf said. “These tighter controls would recognize the powerful and addictive nature of these medications that can cause substantial unintended damage if they are not used properly.” The FDA recommendations for hydrocodone painkillers mirror the Safe Prescribing Act (H.R. 1285), legislation that Wolf has cosponsored this Congress. In fact, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has also supported this change for nearly 20 years. Wolf chaired a Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations subcommittee hearing in April where DEA Administrator Michelle Leohart said that she supports the reclassification of hydrocodone medications. Additionally, The Washington Post recently editorialized its support for reclassifying hydrocodone as a Schedule II drug. Wolf has long worked to stem prescription drug abuse, especially the problem of pill mills, pain clinics serving as fronts for the illegal distribution of painkillers. He has also worked with the DEA to coordinate nationwide prescription drug “take-back” initiatives where people can return unwanted drugs for proper disposal. The full text of the letter is below. The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius Secretary Department of Health and Human Services 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC 20201 Dear Secretary Sebelius: We are writing to urge you to immediately adopt the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recommendation to place tighter controls on prescription painkillers using the active ingredient hydrocodone. This change mirrors legislation we introduced on March 20, 2013 to reschedule hydrocodone combination drugs from a Schedule III to a Schedule II drug – making them more difficult to prescribe and obtain. Prescription drug abuse continues to wreak havoc on countless families and communities throughout our nation. This epidemic has reached such violent proportions that fatal drug overdoses now outweigh the total number of traffic fatalities in this country. Products containing hydrocodone, such as Lortab and Vicodin, are fueling this scourge. These drugs are now the most widely prescribed painkillers in the U.S. On a dose by dose analysis, hydrocodone is comparable in both potency and potential for abuse to oxycodone, a Schedule II drug. While almost every opioid painkiller is placed in Schedule II, hydrocodone combination products are conspicuously missing from this list. That is why we introduced the Safe Prescribing Act of 2013 (H.R. 1285) to correct this misclassification, a change the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has supported for nearly 20 years. Reclassifying hydrocodone combination drugs to a Schedule II would limit how much hydrocodone a patient can receive in between doctor visits and would require written prescriptions. Our legislation has received widespread support from law enforcement, the medical community and addiction advocates. Dr. Andrew Kolodny, President of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, said our bill will “correct an error made over 40 years ago when the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) incorrectly classified hydrocodone combination products. There is clear and convincing medical evidence that hydrocodone has the same abuse liability as the Schedule II opioids.” Rescheduling of hydrocodone combination drugs alone is not enough to end the scourge, and we need to ensure that any changes protect the ability of patients with a legitimate medical need to access these medications. But regulating these potent narcotics in an appropriate manner could go a long way toward combating a national epidemic. We have heard too many stories of a father who started taking painkillers for a bad back only to overdose a few years later. We have heard of too many teenagers who failed to grasp the potency of these narcotics and whose lives were cut far too short. On February 28, 2012, you testified before the House Ways and Means Committee that “the data is enormously alarming -- prescription drugs have now outpaced criminal drugs in terms of over abuse, and deaths, and injuries.” We simply cannot wait any longer to act. We urge you to immediately accept the FDA’s recommendation in the name of every man, woman and child who has endured the horrors of prescription drug abuse. Sincerely, Members of Congress | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |