H.R. 5041: Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act

This was a vote to pass H.R. 5041 in the House.

The Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act is intended to prevent the misuse or theft of unused medications by authorizing hospice care workers to dispose of unused drugs, usually after hospice patients die or the medication expires. It is particularly aimed at hospice patients who are treated at home.

Current law does not allow hospice staff to dispose of unused medications. The staff refers to doctors, nurses and emergency care workers.

Other provisions of the bill require hospice care programs to have written policies and procedures for drug disposal. The information must be given to a patient’s family, which also must have it explained to them in a meeting with a hospice care doctor or nurse.

Program administrators are required to document the drug disposals in clinical records.

The National Association for Home Care & Hospice supported the legislation.

“The opioid epidemic is a problem that needs a spectrum of solutions, including common sense measures like this one that will help prevent the illegal use of prescription drugs,” said U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va..

Passed: How they voted:

YES: Diana DeGette, D, CO 1stYES: Jared Polis, D, CO 2ndYES: Scott Tipton, R, CO 3rdYES: Ken Buck, R, CO 4thYES: Doug Lamborn, R, CO 5thYES: Mike Coffman, R, CO 6thYES: Ed Perlmutter, D, CO 7th

H.R. 5327: Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers Act of 2018

This was a vote to pass H.R. 5327 in the House.

H.R. 5327 directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to at least 10 health care facilities for opioid addiction treatment. The “Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers” are supposed to serve as models for addiction treatment.

The treatment would include using anti-addiction medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The addicts also would received “evidence-based treatments” that might not include medication. They would seek to help the addicts establish links with their communities to help their chances for long-term recovery. The legislation requires the effectiveness to be proven through “outcomes data.”

The approved treatment would require coordination with other entities, withdrawal management, counseling, recovery housing, community-based and peer recovery support services, job training and placement assistance, pharmacy and toxicology services and a secure electronic health information system.

The sponsors were trying to resolve opioid addiction treatments they described as fragmented. Many treatment centers offer only specific kinds of treatment, rather than a comprehensive approach described in H.S. 5327.

“That’s why I introduced the Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers Act, so that people can show up at one facility and have full wrap-around treatment services and succeed in beating addiction,” said U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky.

Passed: How they voted.

YES: Diana DeGette, D, CO 1stYES: Jared Polis, D, CO 2ndYES: Scott Tipton, R, CO 3rdNO: Ken Buck, R, CO 4thYES: Doug Lamborn, R, CO 5thYES: Mike Coffman, R, CO 6thYES: Ed Perlmutter, D, CO 7th

H.R. 5895: Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019

This vote to pass H.R. 5895 supported a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers program for building and maintaining water resource projects.

The work is done under the Corps’ Army Civil Works budget, which focuses primarily on commercial navigation, flood and storm damage reduction and aquatic ecosystem restoration. It also funds programs to protect the nation’s waters and wetlands.

Less frequent projects include generation of low-cost renewable hydropower, restoration of sites contaminated by early atomic weapons development and emergency preparedness and training for natural disasters.

The nearly $1.772 billion in additional funding not allocated to specific projects is subdivided into several categories, such as $956 million for navigation, $541 million for flood risk management and $254 million for other projects still to be determined. Many of the water resource projects would be done along the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

For the first time, the work plan would fund two projects allowing local sponsors to use Section 1043 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 to complete projects. The section authorizes the Corps of Engineers to give its share of a project’s construction cost to a non-federal sponsor who then completes the work.

“The Army’s Civil Works [fiscal] 2018 work plan provides funding to start, continue and complete studies and construction projects that will get dirt moving to better the lives of Americans, their infrastructure, economy and environment,” said R. D. James, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works.

Passed: How they voted.

NO: Diana DeGette, D, CO 1stDID NOT VOTE: Jared Polis, D, CO 2ndYES: Scott Tipton, R, CO 3rdYES: Ken Buck, R, CO 4thYES: Doug Lamborn, R, CO 5thYES: Mike Coffman, R, CO 6thNO: Ed Perlmutter, D, CO 7th

H.R. 3: Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act

This vote to pass H.R. 3 would authorize the federal government to take back nearly $15 billion in funding already approved under this year’s budget.

The Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act was a Trump administration proposal that won approval by a narrow margin after splitting along party lines.

Conservatives showed the strongest support, saying they wanted to reduce the $1.3 trillion spending bill President Donald Trump signed this year. They said the high price tag would increase the federal deficit.

“President Trump and this administration are fully committed to protecting taxpayers, and Senate passage of this legislation is critical to reducing wasteful, unnecessary spending and making our federal government more efficient, effective and accountable,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

Trump sent a tweet about the Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act that said, “The HISTORIC Rescissions Package we’ve proposed would cut $15,000,000,000 in Wasteful Spending! We are getting our government back on track.”

Opponents said the bill would deplete unused funds that might be needed later for programs whose financial requirements still are developing. The top one they mentioned was the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which makes up nearly half the rescisions. They said it could leave many children of low-income families with no health care.

Other programs that would have their funding rescinded include $4.3 billion from the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, $523 million from the Title 17 Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program and $800 million from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovations.

Passed.

NO: Diana DeGette, D, CO 1stDID NOT VOTE: Jared Polis, D, CO 2ndYES: Scott Tipton, R, CO 3rdYES: Ken Buck, R, CO 4thYES: Doug Lamborn, R, CO 5thYES: Mike Coffman, R, CO 6thNO: Ed Perlmutter, D, CO 7th

Sources: Govtrack, media and congressional reports