CONYERS & PALLONE: Trump's Opioid Announcement Is Meaningless Without Additional Funding

Washington, D.C. – Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI) today released the following statement in response to President Trump’s declaration that our nation’s opioid crisis is a public health emergency:

“President Trump’s announcement today falls far short of the recommendations of his own commission, and is essentially meaningless because it does not provide any new funding to fight an epidemic that is killing 91 Americans every day.  The opioid crisis continues to grow, cutting lives short, tearing families apart and leaving people in communities all around our nation with few places to turn as they struggle to find treatment."

“Despite his previous claims that the opioid crisis is a ‘national emergency,’ the President’s announcement today does not unleash the financial resources necessary to end this epidemic.  Instead it simply allows the federal agencies to shift already limited resources away from other public health programs.  This is not the way to fight an epidemic of this magnitude.”

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CONYERS: Statement For "Forum on “Addressing the Long-Term Effects of Sports-Related Brain Injury”

I am pleased to join my colleague, Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, in sponsoring this important event.

Today’s Forum brings together some of the Nation’s leading experts from the medical research and athletic communities to review the causes, effects, and treatments of concussions and other head trauma. 

In particular, the Forum examines what is known about brain injuries, what gaps exist in the scientific literature, and what is being done to address those gaps. 

It will also feature first-hand accounts from individuals who suffered from subconcussive trauma or have witnessed its long-term effects on their loved-ones.

                       

When I was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, we held a hearing on football head injuries in 2009, which was prompted by the mounting scientific evidence connecting head injuries in football and cognitive problems later in life.

During that hearing, the National Football League refused to acknowledge a connection between head injuries on the football field and the subsequent development of brain diseases.

The following year, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing in Detroit, Michigan followed by forums in Houston and New York City as part of our ongoing commitment to calling attention to this problem and examining ways to prevent head injuries in youth, high school, and college football.

This brings us to today’s Forum, where our medical panelists will discuss their recently published study examining the brains of 111 deceased NFL players, which found that an astounding 110 of them had chronic traumatic encephalopathy also known as “CTE”.

Although scientific evidence clearly links head injuries in football to cognitive problems later in life,   between 1.6 and 3.8 million sports and recreation related concussions occur each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The extent of injury is particularly problematic for our youth as most brains are not fully developed until age 25.  As a result, a concussion is more dangerous for a youth than for an adult.

I hope the panelists today will provide guidance on how we can better protect all athletes, especially our young athletes.

             

I would be remiss if I did not briefly comment concerning President Trump’s recent series of statements concerning our nation’s professional football players.  At his rally in Alabama on September 22, he mocked the National Football League’s efforts to prevent brain injuries, declaring: “Two guys, just really, beautiful tackle. Boom! 15 yards. The referee goes on television, his wife’s so proud of him. They’re ruining the game! They’re ruining the game.”

The President of the United States then went on to use the power of his and the Vice-President’s bully pulpits and Twitter feeds to rail against the right of private citizens to express their views and right to protest as guaranteed by the First Amendment’s free speech protection.

Ironically, Mr. Trump has not uttered a single word about the actual underlying issue -- the glaring disparities in how African-Americans are dealt with under our criminal justice system and their treatment by law enforcement officers, which have often had deadly consequences. 

These are problems, by the way, which have gotten worse, not better, under the Trump Administration and Sessions Justice Department.

Today’s forum will allow us to return to the actual facts and evidence, and consider how we can best protect football players at all levels in an incredibly violent sport.

I thank all the panelists and Members for being here today.

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ENCRYPTION WORKING GROUP RELEASES YEAR-END REPORT

The report contains key observations and opportunities for progress

Washington, D.C. –Members of the bipartisan encryption working group – established in March 2016 by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) – today released a year-end report laying out key observations and next steps.

For nearly a year, the Encryption Working Group has held numerous meetings with a variety of federal, state, and local government entities, former government officials, private industry and trade associations, civil society organizations, consultants and legal experts, academia, and cryptographers. These meetings have produced critical information, culminating in a year-end report that lays out four key observations and identifies several areas for future discussion next Congress.

The report concludes:

“Encryption is inexorably tied to our national interests. It is a safeguard for our personal secrets and economic prosperity. It helps to prevent crime and protect national security. The widespread use of encryption technologies also complicates the missions of the law enforcement and intelligence communities. As described in this report, those complications cannot be ignored. This is the reality of modern society. We must strive to find common ground in our collective responsibility: to prevent crime, protect national security, and provide the best possible conditions for peace and prosperity.

“That is why this can no longer be an isolated or binary debate. There is no ‘us versus them,’ or ‘pro-encryption versus law enforcement.’ This conversation implicates everyone and everything that depends on connected technologies—including our law enforcement and intelligence communities. This is a complex challenge that will take time, patience, and cooperation to resolve.  The potential consequences of inaction—or overreaction—are too important to allow historical or ideological perspectives to stand in the way of progress.”

Below are key observations of the report.

1.      Any measure that weakens encryption works against the national interest.

2.      Encryption technology is a global technology that is widely and increasingly available around the world.

3.      The variety of stakeholders, technologies, and other factors create different and divergent challenges with respect to encryption and the “going dark” phenomenon, and therefore there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the encryption challenge.

4.      Congress should foster cooperation between the law enforcement community and technology companies.

Based on these observations, the report has identified several areas for future discussion by the committees next Congress, such as exploring opportunities to help law enforcement agencies navigate the process of accessing information from private companies; examining options to improve law enforcement’s ability to leverage metadata; reviewing the circumstances, resources and legal framework necessary to help law enforcement agencies exploit existing flaws in digital products; considering the implications of alternative legal strategies such as compelling individual consumers to decrypt their devices, and the role of encryption in fostering greater data security and privacy.

The members of the working group issuing the report are House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.), and Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Bill Johnson (R-OH), and Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY).

House Judiciary & Energy and Commerce Committees Encryption Working Group Year-End Report December 20, 2016... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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Medicaid Fraud In Child Welfare: Congress Cannot Regulate What Is Not Regulated

Regulation by proxy is now in the Congress!

"At least 2 EpiPens for every kid on Medicaid"
Mylan's new lobby name

Regulation falls within the purview of the Executive Branch, but since there is a congressional movement of the majority to further strip law enforcement authorities of regulatory powers, it looks like we have a bit of a problem.

The congressional majority wants the powers of rulemaking.  Great, but it has shot itself in the foot because it is, in the same breath, gutting law enforcement capabilities of compliance which leads to an increase of fraud.

The congressional minority has refused any legislative movement to regulate the child welfare industry.  Gotta fund those campaigns, ya know.

So, how can there be a push for more deregulation of an industry which has never been regulated?

So, there you have it.

In bipartisan unison, Congress is asking questions of why Mylan has, and continues, engaged in Medicaid Fraud in Child Welfare.

And I shall continue to respond with the same statement:  "Because you allow it".

Even if these congressional committees find reason to refer for further investigation, all of this could have been prevented if Congress would just do what it is supposed to do and not just focus on the politics of protecting their corporate campaign contributors.

And as for Mylan, if you were not so greedy you propbably would never have been busted.

Wyden, Pallone Question Mylan Payments to Medicaid for EpiPens

Due to Apparent Decades-Long Misclassification as a Generic Drug, EpiPen Manufacturer Could Have Received Substantially More Taxpayer Dollars than Law Allows

WASHINGTON – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr., D-N.J., today sent a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell requesting additional information regarding EpiPen’s classification and rebate obligations under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, following revelations that Medicaid may have been grossly overpaying for the EpiPen for nearly two decades due to a misclassification by Mylan.

“These revelations are yet another example of drug makers abusing the dysfunctional, opaque drug pricing system Americans are forced to live with today,” Wyden and Pallone said. “The Medicaid drug rebate program is key to ensuring the most vulnerable have access to affordable medicine. Today we are asking if Mylan has been unfairly underpaying Medicaid for years. If this proves true, not only has Mylan been gouging family budgets through steep price hikes, but it appears they may have also been taking advantage of taxpayers through Medicaid for decades.”

As a part of the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, pharmaceutical companies wishing to sell their products in the program are required to pay a rebate to help make their drugs more affordable. For brand-name drugs, pharmaceutical companies are required to pay to the federal government a discount that is the greater of either 23.1 percent of the Average Manufacture Price (AMP) or AMP minus the “best price” for the drug, plus an additional discount if a drug’s price increases faster than the rate of inflation. The discount for generic drugs is lower, at 13 percent of the AMP.

Recent evidence indicates that, since at least 1997, EpiPen may have been incorrectly designated by relevant pharmaceutical companies as a generic in the Medicaid program, despite being considered a brand-name drug by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Medicare. This would mean Mylan has been vastly underpaying rebates owed to Medicaid for the EpiPen for years.

Wyden Pallone EpiPen Medicaid Drug Rebate Letter-Sept 2 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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Conyers, Goodlatte, Upton, and Pallone Announce Bipartisan Encryption Working Group

Encryption a Top Issue for House Judiciary and Energy and Commerce Committees

Dean of the U.S. House
'of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

Washington, D.C.  – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today announced the creation of an encryption working group to examine the complicated legal and policy issues surrounding encryption. The group will identify potential solutions that preserve the benefits of strong encryption – including the protection of Americans’ privacy and information security - while also ensuring law enforcement has the tools needed to keep us safe and prevent crime. The House Judiciary Committee and Energy and Commerce Committee have primary jurisdiction over encryption and the issues it presents for citizens, law enforcement, and American technology companies.

Members of the working group are:

Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI)

Darrell Issa (R-CA)

Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)

Suzan DelBene (D-WA)

Bill Johnson (R-OH)

Adam Kinzinger (R-IL)

Yvette Clarke (D-NY)

Joe Kennedy (D-MA)

Chairmen Goodlatte and Upton and Ranking Members Conyers and Pallone will serve as ex officio members of the working group and released the following joint statement:

“The widespread use of strong encryption is important to protecting Americans’ privacy.  We also recognize that challenges remain for law enforcement agencies seeking to disrupt criminals and terrorists from doing us harm. The bipartisan encryption working group will examine the issues surrounding this ongoing national debate. Members will work toward finding solutions that allow law enforcement agencies to fulfill their responsibility without harming the competitiveness of the U.S. technology sector or the privacy and security that encryption provides for U.S. citizens. We look forward to continuing our work on this important issue facing our country.”

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