Empowering Pharmacists in the Fight Against Opioid Abuse
As a pharmacist for more than 30 years, I know the important role the profession plays in combating the opioid crisis our nation is facing. Pharmacists are the last line of defense against drug abuse.

That is why I worked with my friend Representative Mark DeSaulnier from California to craft legislation to help give pharmacists a greater understanding and ability to decline to fill controlled substance prescriptions that are fraudulent, forged, or appear to be for abuse or diversion.

Click here to see more about this important legislation that was passed by the House. 



From our Nation's Capitol CLXXV

Monday, August 13, 2018:  In Congress I have the honor of serving on the oldest standing legislative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee.  The committee was originally established on December 14, 1795, as the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures to “regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States.”   The committee also has the broadest jurisdiction of any committee with responsibility for things such as telecommunications, consumer protection, food and drug safety, public health and research, environmental quality, energy policy, and interstate and foreign commerce among others.  During the 114th Congress nearly 67% of all the legislation that was voted on in the House came through our committee.  As the only member of the Georgia delegation on the committee, I take this responsibility very serious.  This morning I fly to Seattle, WA, to meet with various companies that fall under our jurisdiction.  After arriving in Seattle this afternoon, my first meeting is with the Weyerhaeuser Company at their national headquarters. 

Rep. Carter touring Weyerhaeuser Company

Founded by Frederick Weyerhaeuser in 1900 in Tacoma, WA, Weyerhaeuser is one of the largest sustainable forest products companies in the world and has a strong presence in our District.  Forestry has a $35 billion economic impact per year in the state of Georgia and generates over 145,000 jobs, making our state the number one forestry state in the nation.   

Tuesday, August 14, 2018:  This morning I’m visiting the headquarters of Amazon, the largest internet retailer in the world and the most valuable retailer in the United States by market capitalization.  Founded by Jeff Bezos on July 5, 1994, Amazon started as an online bookstore and later diversified into a number of areas including electronics, audio files, music, furniture, food and more.  After a tour of the Spheres, a place where employees can think and work differently surrounded by more than 40,000 plants from the cloud forest regions of over 30 countries, I visit an Amazon Go store where no checkout is required.

Rep. Carter touring Amazon's headquarters

You simply use the Amazon Go app to enter the store, take the products you want, and go with no lines and no checkout. Afterwards, I sit down with management to discuss cybersecurity and privacy issues.  Next, I head to Microsoft in Redmond, WA, a multinational computer technology corporation founded on April 4, 1975, by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Most of us know the story of the founding of Microsoft, but I was unaware that they started in Albuquerque and didn’t move to the Seattle area until 1979.  During my almost 3 hour visit I meet with management to discuss subjects such as artificial intelligence, Airband and cybersecurity.  Next, I head to Vigor Kvichak, a company that designs and constructs high quality aluminum vessels for use on the sea including patrol, search and rescue, firefighting, survey, transporting pilots, transporting passengers and general workboats.  The harbor pilots in Brunswick and Savannah use boats manufactured here and recently my office has been working with the company, pilots and representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on specifications for a new boat. 

Wednesday, August 15, 2018:  I’m in Everett, WA, this morning where I am touring Boeing whose international headquarters are located in Chicago but the bulk of their manufacturing is done here in the Seattle area.  Started in Seattle in 1916 as the Pacific Aero Products Company, the maiden flight of their first aircraft was also that year and today they build everything from 747 ‘jumbo jets’ to 787 Dreamliners.  The company employs almost 40,000 employees here and their assembly plant is the largest building on earth by volume and is large enough to cover Disneyland.  

Rep. Carter touring Boeing

Their newest plane, the 777x is currently being manufactured and the first delivery is expected in 2020.  Afterwards, I head to Expedia in Bellevue, WA, in the Seattle area. Expedia is a global travel technology group that owns websites such as Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Trivago, Travelocity, and Orbitz.  After a tour of their facilities, I meet with management to discuss cybersecurity and user privacy issues. 

Rep. Carter touring Expedia

Next, I head to the airport for a flight to Vancouver, Canada where I will be participating in The Aspen Institute Congressional Program on Energy Policy Challenges for a Secure North America.  The Aspen Institute is a nonpartisan forum for values-based leadership and the exchange of ideas. Once I arrive at the conference our first speaker is Meghan O’Sullivan from Harvard University who served in the George W. Bush administration.  Her presentation is on “The Global Energy Picture and National Security for the U.S.” She makes a number of good points, stressing the importance of global energy markets being well supplied and encouraging our allies to diversify their own sources of energy.

Thursday, August 16, 2018:  Our first speakers this morning are Kelly Sims Gallagher from Tufts University and Jim Connaughton from Nautilus Data Technologies as they cover the topic of “The Role of Technology and Consumer Choice in Energy Supply and Demand.”  Among the topics that they cover are how the government can best promote technological improvements, how we can invest in research and development and the responsibilities of public and private research. 

Rep. Carter participating in The Aspen Institute Congressional Program on Energy Policy Challenges for a Secure North America

Later in the afternoon, we hear from Robert Bienenfeld, Vice President of American Honda Motor Company and Drew Kodjak, CEO of International Council on Clean Transportation as they discuss the future of the auto industry.  Among the topics that they cover are the move to more electric vehicles, the emergence of autonomous cars and the role that government will play in these areas. Two interesting points that I took away from this session are that fourteen percent of the land in Los Angeles is dedicated to parking and that U.S. national standards will have an impact on Canada as over 40% of their vehicle production is sold in the U.S. 

Friday, August 17, 2018:  This morning we hear from Glen Murray, a former Ontario environment minister and Gitane De Silva, Alberta’s Senior Representative to the U.S., as they present on “Canada’s Approach to Energy Challenges and Implications for the U.S.”  They point out that Canada is in the process of instituting a nationwide price on carbon emissions and, as the largest exporter of oil to the U.S., the impact this could have on the price of Canadian oil.  Later, we hear from Terry Chapin and Gwen Holdmann, both from the University of Alaska on “The Northern Belt and The Arctic and Climate Change.”  Among the many points that they make are the potential impact climate change can have on agriculture, forestry and commerce.  They also discussed the effects of fast warming on the ecological and human environments in the north.  Our final presenter today is Colette Honorable, a former commission member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as she shares with us her experiences on the commission and how legislators can best interact with the commissioners.  

Saturday, August 18, 2018:  We are very fortunate this morning to hear from Carlos Pascual, former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and Sergio Marchi, former Canadian Ambassador to the World Trade Organization on “NAFTA’s Impact on Energy Use In The Americas.”  

Rep. Carter with Carlos Pascual, former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, after his presentation

These two well versed presenters discussed how energy fits into the ongoing discussions of the NAFTA agreement and the importance of energy security for all of North America.  Among the interesting facts that I learned is that the U.S. exports more natural gas to Mexico than all other countries combined and that the U.S. and Canada share the same electrical grid with numerous gas and oil pipelines crossing our international borders.  Later, we hear from Howard Gruenspecht, former Deputy Administrator of the Energy Information Agency and Hal Harvey, CEO of Energy Innovation LLC in California as they present on “Changing Contexts for Energy and Implications for U.S. Policy.”  They discuss the four key consumer demands of reliability, safety, affordability and low pollution and the new technologies that are becoming affordable and, in some cases, cheaper than current technologies.  For instance, solar energy is now 80% less expensive than it was a decade ago and, because of our burdensome regulations, it costs twice as much to put solar panels on a roof in the U.S. than it does in Germany.  Our final speaker of the conference is Ben Fowke, CEO of XCEL Energy, one of the largest public utilities in the U.S. as he offers his insight on “The Future of the U.S. Electricity System.”  In a fine presentation, Mr. Fowke stresses the importance of a reliable, predictable supply of electricity while meeting the goals of affordability, reliability and protecting the environment.      


 
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