July 27, 2016 Addressing the Opioid Crisis By Fred Upton The simple truth is that we’re in the middle of an opioid abuse epidemic. Nearly every 12 minutes, someone in America dies of a drug overdose and the Centers for Disease Control reports that more than a quarter billion opioid prescriptions were written in 2012 alone. Abuse of opioids has impacted every community. In my home state of Michigan, we are enduring 10 times as many deaths today as there were 15 years ago. Indiana was ranked 16th ...
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The Energy and Commerce Committee: Getting the Job Done By Rep. Fred Upton The Hill Legislation to protect seniors’ access to their Medicare doctors, to strengthen and improve chemical and pipeline safety, to reform our nation’s mental health system, and to revolutionize our healthcare ecosystem to facilitate 21st Century Cures. What do all of these have in common? One thing: Big, bipartisan votes in the House Energy and Commerce Committee to help usher these critical pieces of legislation throu...
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Today is a special yet solemn day of honor and reverence as we recognize a basic truth that our country was forged, and then protected, by those who have served and by those who have indeed made the ultimate sacrifice for the United States of America and our freedoms. They were, and are, citizen soldiers. Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters – brought together in uncommon circumstances but sharing a common goal: To serve their country and then make it back home t...
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Working together to strengthen our military By U.S. Reps. Fred Upton and Bill Huizenga Holland Sentinel The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is the primary way Congress meets its most important constitutional obligation: To “provide for the common defense” of our country. Last week, the House of Representatives advanced H.R. 4909, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 by a bipartisan vote of 277-147. This is an important step toward strengthening our military and k...
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Last year, the Medicaid program celebrated its golden anniversary. A lot has changed over the last 50 years. Originally created in 1965 as a joint federal-state program to provide health care coverage for low-income, vulnerable Americans, it is now the world’s largest health insurance program. Today Medicaid is an important lifeline for so many in Michigan and across the country. It is estimated the program will expand to cover 83 million people this year – that’s one in four Americans. Given it...
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The world we live in today is rapidly changing, highly interconnected, and uniquely threatened in ways not thought possible when our electric grid first came online. When it comes to keeping our country safe, nothing is more under-the-radar yet crucial to the nation’s well-being than our electric grid infrastructure. Everything from cyber-attacks to electromagnetic pulse waves, severe weather to seismic events has the potential to shut down or disrupt parts of the grid. The results of these disr...
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Congressman Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph took to the pages of The Detroit News this week to highlight the work the Energy and Commerce Committee is doing to address the growing opioid abuse epidemic. During the past year, the committee has held a number of hearings with experts, stakeholders, law inforcement, individuals in recovery, and family members of opioid abuse victims in order to identify problems with how opioid addiction is treated and ways we can help those in need. Upton discusses result...
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Yesterday the House of Representatives voted to improve the nation’s ailing transportation infrastructure, improve vehicle safety, and ensure America’s energy security. Ahead of the vote on the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, Congressman Upton took to USA TODAY to highlight the important safety provisions included in the legislation and what they mean for drivers in Southwest Michigan and across the country. You can read the piece below. December 3, 2015 Safety Provisions Pro...
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The United States is in the midst of an energy revolution like we’ve never seen before. Thanks to technological advances and American ingenuity, we have unlocked a wealth of new energy resources and are now one of the world’s leading energy producers. However, more can, and should, be done to capitalize on our newfound energy abundance. The Energy and Commerce Committee has worked over the last year and a half on a vision I call the Architecture of Abundance. It’s a plan that seeks to usher Amer...
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Growing up on the shores of Lake Michigan has instilled in me a deep appreciation for the beauty of our wildlife and natural resources. I spent springs and summers swimming in the lake, autumn hiking trails around Southwest Michigan, and winters building snow forts and playing pick-up hockey on frozen ponds. Anyone who grew up in Michigan, or in the Great Lakes region, can probably relate to these idyllic pastimes. That is why protecting and preserving our Great Lakes for future generations to e...
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