Congressman Brett Guthrie, Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Morgan Griffith, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, announced a legislative hearing titled ‘Policies to Protect Our Communities from Illicit Drug Threats’ will be held March 26 at 2:00 PM ET in the Rayburn House Office Building.
The hearing aims to address new and emerging drug threats in American communities. Guthrie and Griffith said, “As new and emerging drug threats arise in communities across America, it’s vital this Committee continues to implement solutions that prevent illicit drugs from causing any more damage for American families. This hearing builds on critical pieces of legislation that President Trump signed into law last year, like the HALT Fentanyl Act and the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act. We will also discuss several additional bills that actively promote the safety of our constituents and crack down on the infiltration of lethal substances into our communities. We are grateful to our bill sponsors for championing these policies, because there is always more that can be done to combat the illicit drug crisis.”
The session will focus on multiple bills targeting various aspects of substance use prevention, treatment access, regulation changes, enforcement against dangerous substances such as xylazine and nitazenes, pill presses used for illegal drugs, alternatives to pain management, hazardous imports destruction, tianeptine prohibition, and community alert systems. The event is open to both public attendance and press coverage with a livestream available through energycommerce.house.gov.
Dr. Yngvild Olsen provided written testimony highlighting her experience as former Director for the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at SAMHSA. She discussed two main topics: improving access to effective treatment for opioid use disorder—including regulatory updates during her tenure—and concerns about how pending Medicaid changes could undermine addiction treatment access. Olsen said only about a quarter of people who could benefit from medication-assisted treatment receive it due in part to regulatory barriers. She cited recent progress where expanded access led to a decline in overdose deaths by more than 25% over two years but warned that administrative burdens or funding cuts could reverse these gains.
Olsen urged lawmakers to consider whether proposed legislation increases or reduces access to effective addiction treatment when making policy decisions. She emphasized ongoing monitoring of Medicaid impacts so unintended coverage losses do not occur as reforms proceed.
Further details about scheduled bills and participation are available according to the official roster page.
