Washington, D.C. - Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR), Health Subcommittee Republican Leader Dr. Michael Burgess (R-TX), and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Republican Leader Brett Guthrie (R-KY) released the following statement after 10 bills advanced by the Energy and Commerce Committee passed the House.

“As we’ve said before, now is not the time to let our foot off the gas in combating the opioid crisis. Not only is the opioid epidemic worsening during the COVID-19 pandemic; we’re also seeing an uptick in violent crimes. Today’s bills build off lessons learned from committee investigations into the root causes of the opioid crisis, support programs to help victims of violent trauma, and address disparities in health outcomes that have also been exacerbated by the pandemic. The House also passed bills to increase competition in the prescription drug market, update drug labeling laws, and increase the CDC’s food allergy data collection. The measures advanced today aim to address some of the many challenges Americans are facing during this public health emergency, and we hope these bills are quickly passed by the Senate and signed into law,” said Walden, Burgess, and Guthrie.

The following bills were passed in the House of Representatives:

• H.R. 4499 – NIMHD Research Endowment Revitalization Act of 2020
• H.R. 5668 – MODERN Labeling Act of 2020
• H.R. 4712 – Fairness in Orphan Drug Exclusivity Act
• H.R. 2466 – State Opioid Response Grant Authorization Act of 2020
• H.R. 2281 – Easy MAT for Opioid Addiction Act
• H.R. 2117 – FASTER Act of 2020
• H.R. 5855 – Bipartisan Solution to Cyclical Violence Act of 2020
• H.R. 3878 – Block, Report, And Suspend Shipments Act of 2020
• H.R. 4806 – DEBAR Act of 2020
• H.R. 4812 – Ensuring Compliance Against Drug Diversion Act of 2019