Fighting The Heroin Epidemic

Since joining the Senate, one of my top priorities has been to stem the tide of heroin and opioid addiction that is raging across our country. Every community I visit in Pennsylvania is dealing with this crisis, and just about every Pennsylvanian I meet with knows someone affected by heroin or prescription painkiller addiction.

Over the last several months, I have focused on cutting down inappropriate access to opioids, improving patient care, and saving taxpayers money.

I was able to ensure that my bipartisan amendment, authored with Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), was included in a broader drug policy bill which passed the Senate in March. The Toomey-Brown language will prevent abuse of Medicare by stopping fraudsters from going to multiple doctors and pharmacies to obtain commercial-scale quantities of opioids that are then diverted to the black market. Even President Obama's administration thinks my legislation "makes every bit of sense in the world."

CNBC recently ran a story called "The Big Business of Pain," and I was glad to be interviewed to discuss my bipartisan efforts. You can watch the CNBC story here.

Recently, I visited the Pennsylvania SPCA to learn more about the excellent work they do caring and advocating for animals. There is no place for animal abuse in our society, and I am glad to see these dedicated individuals doing all they can to protect animals. You can read about my visit here.

During my time in the Senate, I have worked to protect animals from heinous forms of abuse, and I was recently awarded the 2016 Legislative Leader Award by the Humane Society for my work.

My bipartisan bill, the Prevent Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, would outlaw a heinous form of animal abuse known as "crushing" - where deranged individuals maim and torture animals. This legislation would be the first-ever federal law to grant all animals federal protections against cruelty and abuse.

I am also working with my colleagues to pass two other bipartisan bills to protect animals. First, the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act would crack down on a practice where horses are maimed in order to make them walk with high-stepping gaits that are rewarded in show rings. Soring is inhumane, unnecessary, and cruel. We need to toughen federal laws and end this abusive training tactic which exists only for entertainment and shows.

Next, the Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act would encourage domestic violence shelters to accommodate service animals and victims' pets. When fleeing from dangerous situations, victims should not have to worry about the safety of their pets, which are also often abused. This legislation is a step in the right direction toward easing the burden on those escaping domestic violence and their loved ones.

I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure that these bipartisan bills become law.

On Tuesday morning, I visited Cambria County with Congressman Keith Rothfus to discuss our efforts to address the heroin and prescription painkiller epidemic with people fighting it on the ground. We visited Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown. In the last four years, this hospital has seen a 65 percent increase in heroin-related overdoses. This is a tragic statistic that desperately requires action.

Another step I am taking in this fight is to sponsor bipartisan legislation that would decouple the responses to an Obamacare-mandated survey on pain and the treatment of pain from Medicare reimbursements.

Obamacare links a series of questions about pain on a hospital satisfaction survey to nearly $500 million in Medicare reimbursements. Questions include whether hospital staff did "everything they could to help you with your pain," among other similar questions.  Hospitals with high scores on the survey get a greater share of Medicare reimbursement as a result. Those facilities with lower satisfaction scores lose money. You can read more about the problem in this Time Magazine article titled "How Obamacare Is Fueling America's Opioid Epidemic."

To eliminate this perverse incentive, I have cosponsored and will work for the enactment of Sen. Ron Johnson's (R-Wis.) bill called the Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP) Act. Our bipartisan bill is aimed at alleviating the pressure on doctors to over prescribe opioids and would simply remove the results of those pain questions for purposes of calculating Medicare reimbursement under Obamacare.

WJAC News reported on our visit to Johnstown. You can watch that news segment here, and you can watch me speak on this critical issue on the Senate floor here.

I am extraordinarily proud of my wife Kris. She has been raising money and awareness about multiple myeloma - a rare form of blood cancer. This is a personal issue for our family. Kris's mother was diagnosed with multiple myeloma a couple of years ago.

And Kris hasn't just been talking about it. She's taken action. Last summer, Kris competed in the Lake Placid Ironman (2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride, and a marathon/26.2-mile run) as a member of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation team. Our family traveled with her to cheer her on from the sidelines.

Last Saturday morning, Kris and I - along with several current and former members of Team Toomey and some great friends - ran the annual Miles for Myeloma 5K in Philadelphia. Kris came in second in her age group with a time of 25:33 and I finished fifth in my age group with a time of 25:59. In the photo above, you can see that our son Duncan, age five, couldn't contain himself around the Phillie Phanatic.

You can read more about Kris's effort to fight multiple myeloma here.

For the fourth year in a row, my staff had the pleasure to participate in the Veterans Resource Fair sponsored by the Philadelphia City Council's Veterans Advisory Commission. I am committed to helping veterans who are having problems with federal agencies and programs.  The fair was a good way to let our vets know what services are available to them.

Other veteran support organizations, as well as city, state and federal agencies, also participated in the fair by providing information, benefits and resources for Philadelphia's veterans population.

Pictured from left to right:

• Imani Johnson -- my field representative for Southeastern Pennsylvania,
• Betty Christian -- Deputy District Commander of the 1st District of Philadelphia of the American Legion, veteran of the Vietnam War,
• Beverly Glover -- Deputy District Commander of the 1st District of Philadelphia of the American Legion and Vice Chairwoman of Membership for the Department of Pennsylvania, veteran of the Vietnam War.