“People need to have complete confidence that their doctor is ethical, honest and can be trusted with life or death decisions. How can a patient have this kind of faith in someone who broke the law and is in this country illegally at this time?”
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor highlighting his legislation to prevent illegal immigrants from being able to prescribe opioids if states issue them medical, dental and other professional licenses.
Transcript of Senator Barrasso’s remarks:
“A couple of weeks ago, a small agency in New York state took a very big step, and a step that I think is very dangerous.
“The state Board of Regents said that it will start giving some illegal immigrants a license to practice medicine in New York.
“This is the state agency that grants certificates and licenses for more than 50 different professionals.
“You need this board’s permission if you want to be a nurse in New York –a pharmacist, a dentist or a doctor.
“And I think it’s a terrible idea to grant licenses to illegal immigrants because doctors, dentists, others are entrusted to prescribe powerful medicines, and that’s the point of the bill we’re on right now.
“These include these very opioid painkillers that we’ve been talking about the past few weeks.
“The Senate right now is debating what we can do to help communities and families who are struggling with the abuse of these drugs.
“I think a big part of the problem is that these powerful medications are just too widely available. And I can tell you that as someone who has practiced medicine in Wyoming for 25 years.
“I worry that there are physicians and dentists who maybe have been too free in prescribing opioids, very addictive medicines.
“There are pharmacists who maybe haven’t been as careful as they could be about making sure that these drugs are used appropriately by the people who come to pick up prescriptions.
“Families across the country have been hurt by this abuse of these opioids – including many in New York state itself.
“Senator Gillibrand came to the floor just last week to talk about it.
“She talked about the problem of opioids being overprescribed in New York.
“So then the question is: why is the state of New York so eager to allow these drugs to be prescribed and dispensed by people who we know have already broken the law?
“The legislation that we’re debating today tries to reduce the flow of opioids – and to reduce the ways that they might be given out improperly.
“It includes language that would help states monitor and track prescriptions.
“That’s a very important part of this legislation which I support.
“Senator Markey of Massachusetts has actually offered an amendment that would do even more.
“It would tighten the process for registering people to dispense powerful drugs like these opioids.
“Under the rules today, the Drug Enforcement Administration registers doctors before it allows them to write these prescriptions.
Senator Markey’s amendment says that before anyone could even get this registration, they would have to complete additional training.
“Well, we all want to be sure that the people who are handing out these medications can be trusted to do it responsibly.
“We also have to be very careful about giving a prescription pad to people whose history – and maybe even their identities – may be unclear.
“So I’m introducing an amendment to the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act that will help us do this.
“This amendment actually takes the same approach as Senator Markey’s does.
“It adds a simple requirement: a requirement that before the Drug Enforcement Administration can register someone to prescribe and dispense these powerful, addictive medications that this applicant must be able to prove that they are either a United States citizen or a legal resident.
“That’s it.
“There’s actually a federal law already on the books that requires this.
“It was signed into law – passed by Congress and signed by Bill Clinton in 1996.
“There was a loophole in the law that allowed states – like what New York is doing – to come around later and exempt illegal immigrants from the requirement in their state.
“So, New York is doing that right now through its board.
“You know, it’s not even the state legislature that’s doing it in New York.
“It’s not the citizens of New York who are doing it.
“They’re not the ones saying that they’re willing to take a chance and loosen the standards on those who can prescribe these powerful, addictive medications.
“This is being done and the decision is being made by a very small state agency, acting on its own authority.
“Well, I think this decision is much too important to be left to a small group of people in Albany, New York.
“I want to be clear: this is not about immigrants.
“This is about the threat that comes from the misuse of opioid painkillers.
“It is about maintaining the standards of the law.
“When my grandfather came to this country, he did it legally like millions of others.
“He followed the rules, he worked hard, he continued to obey the law.
“We all know that this is a country of immigrants.
“We know that America still proudly welcomes legal immigrants today.
“We also know that being a doctor is not like other jobs.
“When a patient goes to her doctor, she may literally be placing her own life in that doctor’s hands.
“People need to have complete confidence that their doctor is ethical, honest, and can be trusted with life or death decisions.
“How can a patient have this kind of faith in someone who broke the law and is in this country illegally at this time?
“This action by the New York Board of Regents could seriously undermine the doctor-patient relationship, and the trust that needs to be there.
“Doctors are held to the highest possible standards. They need to be outstanding members of their community.
“In the state of New York, a doctor can actually lose their license if convicted of a crime.
“But what is it being in the country illegally? Why would we then give a license to someone who already knows that they have committed a crime by being in the country illegally?
“It makes no sense.
“As a doctor, I’ll tell you these opioid medications are very powerful.
“They can be abused and they have been abused, especially if they fall into the hands of someone who is not up to the highest moral, professional, and legal standards who is righting the prescription in the first place.
“We in Congress have a responsibility to make sure that such dangerous medications can be given out only by people who meet these standards.
“It would set a terrible precedent if we allow people who are in this country illegally to prescribe these highly addictive drugs, but that’s what New York wants to do.
“We cannot allow someone who has broken the law to serve as the gatekeeper for those potentially dangerous medications.
“We owe every American the peace of mind that the doctor treating their sick child is who that doctor claims to be – and that their doctor is in the country legally.
“The New York Board of Regents is ignoring – absolutely ignoring – this important public health and public safety concern.
“If New York will not act to protect its people, then Congress must.”