Tyler's Law orders the Health and Human Services Department to spend a year studying whether emergency rooms test overdose patients for fentanyl, then write guidance suggesting maybe they should. Members spent the debate agreeing with each other and thanking Tyler's mother for her advocacy, which is fair -- she did the work. No one objected, no one argued, and Congress passed a bill asking bureaucrats to produce a report. The sick part is that hospitals apparently don't already know what they're testing for, but hey, one more study and a guidance document will fix it. Everyone voted yes.Written by GLM 5.3 Flash. Updated .
“I want to skip the normal rules. Let's pass this bill now. The bill tells the Department of Health to study fentanyl tests in hospitals. The department will then make rules about those tests.”
“I want the House to pass this bill. It tells health officials to study whether emergency rooms should regularly test overdose patients for fentanyl.”
“Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2004) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue guidance on whether hospital emergency departments should implement fentanyl testing as a routine procedure for patients experiencing an overdose, and for other purposes. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows:”
Official Congressional Record
Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2004) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue guidance on whether hospital emergency departments should implement fentanyl testing as a routine procedure for patients experiencing an overdose, and for other purposes. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows:
“I want this bill to pass. This bill will honor a young man who died from fentanyl. Doctors did not test him for fentanyl. His mother worked hard to get this bill passed. She does not want other mothers to go through the same thing. I want doctors to have the best practices for drug overdoses. Please support this bill.”
“I want the House to pass this bill. It will help hospital emergency rooms better test for and treat fentanyl overdoses so more people do not die.”
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2004, led by the gentleman from California (Mr. Lieu) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta). Tyler's Law is named after Tyler Shamash, who suffered from a fatal fentanyl poisoning after doctors did not test for fentanyl when he was admitted to the hospital emergency room. This bill would honor Tyler's memory by helping prevent more tragedies and ensuring providers are able to provide the best practices when treating cases of potential drug overdoses. I encourage my colleagues to vote for this bill. I can't stop, Mr. Speaker, without bringing up his mother, Juli, who has spent tireless hours flying from California to D.C.--sometimes, because of our schedule change, on a moment's notice--to be present for hearings and bringing this story, knowing that it is not going to bring her son back but wanting to prevent other mothers and other people from going through what she has gone through. I appreciate her hard work, and I acknowledge that. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill to honor his legacy and the many families who have suffered similarly. I reserve the balance of my time.”
Official Congressional Record
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2004, led by the gentleman from California (Mr. Lieu) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta). Tyler's Law is named after Tyler Shamash, who suffered from a fatal fentanyl poisoning after doctors did not test for fentanyl when he was admitted to the hospital emergency room. This bill would honor Tyler's memory by helping prevent more tragedies and ensuring providers are able to provide the best practices when treating cases of potential drug overdoses. I encourage my colleagues to vote for this bill. I can't stop, Mr. Speaker, without bringing up his mother, Juli, who has spent tireless hours flying from California to D.C.--sometimes, because of our schedule change, on a moment's notice--to be present for hearings and bringing this story, knowing that it is not going to bring her son back but wanting to prevent other mothers and other people from going through what she has gone through. I appreciate her hard work, and I acknowledge that. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill to honor his legacy and the many families who have suffered similarly. I reserve the balance of my time.
“I want this bill to pass. This bill will study fentanyl testing in emergency rooms. I also want to thank Tyler's mother. She has worked hard to get this bill passed. I thank Representative Lieu for his work. I thank my colleagues for bringing the bill to a vote. I want everyone to vote yes on this bill.”
“I want the House to pass this bill. It tells health officials to study how emergency rooms test overdose patients for fentanyl.”
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 2004, Tyler's Law. This legislation directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study the use of fentanyl testing in hospital emergency departments for patients experiencing an overdose. As we heard so eloquently from Chairman Guthrie, I, too, thank Tyler's mom for her tireless advocacy and to thank Representative Lieu for his leadership on this legislation and my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee for working to bring the bill to the floor today. I encourage all my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.”
Official Congressional Record
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 2004, Tyler's Law. This legislation directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study the use of fentanyl testing in hospital emergency departments for patients experiencing an overdose. As we heard so eloquently from Chairman Guthrie, I, too, thank Tyler's mom for her tireless advocacy and to thank Representative Lieu for his leadership on this legislation and my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee for working to bring the bill to the floor today. I encourage all my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.
“I want this bill to pass. Many hospitals do not test for fentanyl in emergency rooms. This leads to people not knowing they took fentanyl. This can cause preventable deaths. A young man named Tyler died because of this. His mother has worked hard to get this bill passed. I have worked with others to pass this bill. Tyler's mother is here today. She has fought hard for this. I want everyone to vote yes to honor Tyler and prevent deaths.”
“I want the House to pass this bill. Many emergency rooms do not test patients for fentanyl during drug screenings, which can lead to preventable deaths. This bill will study the problem and give hospitals guidance on testing for fentanyl.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2004, Tyler's Law. This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a study and then to issue guidance to hospitals to test for fentanyl in emergency room screenings. This may come as a surprise to many. Right now many hospitals do not test for fentanyl in emergency room screenings. This leads to cases where people who walk in the emergency room may not know that they ingested a drug laced with fentanyl, or they may walk out of the emergency room not knowing that they had taken fentanyl and not gotten the right resources. As a result, this could result in preventable deaths. Tyler, the bill's namesake, is one such case of this testing blind spot. At 19 years old, Tyler's life was cut short when he died from a fentanyl overdose after initially going to the emergency room. He was not tested for fentanyl, and he was discharged. His toxicology screening came back with no indication of fentanyl, and he went home. The next day he returned to the ER and ultimately died from having ingested fentanyl. Tyler's mom, Juli, came to my office sharing Tyler's tragic story and has been a fierce advocate of ensuring that no family experiences the same kind of devastating loss. Since then, I have been working closely with Congressman Bob Latta, Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, and our Senate counterparts on getting Tyler's Law passed. However, the real credit goes to Juli. She is here in the gallery today with other parents who also lost their child to fentanyl. She has been present for every step of the progress we have taken this Congress. I thank Juli for her fierce advocacy and for fighting to advance laws that will prevent future fentanyl-related deaths. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill so we can honor Tyler and prevent fentanyl deaths in the future.”
Official Congressional Record
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2004, Tyler's Law. This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a study and then to issue guidance to hospitals to test for fentanyl in emergency room screenings. This may come as a surprise to many. Right now many hospitals do not test for fentanyl in emergency room screenings. This leads to cases where people who walk in the emergency room may not know that they ingested a drug laced with fentanyl, or they may walk out of the emergency room not knowing that they had taken fentanyl and not gotten the right resources. As a result, this could result in preventable deaths. Tyler, the bill's namesake, is one such case of this testing blind spot. At 19 years old, Tyler's life was cut short when he died from a fentanyl overdose after initially going to the emergency room. He was not tested for fentanyl, and he was discharged. His toxicology screening came back with no indication of fentanyl, and he went home. The next day he returned to the ER and ultimately died from having ingested fentanyl. Tyler's mom, Juli, came to my office sharing Tyler's tragic story and has been a fierce advocate of ensuring that no family experiences the same kind of devastating loss. Since then, I have been working closely with Congressman Bob Latta, Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, and our Senate counterparts on getting Tyler's Law passed. However, the real credit goes to Juli. She is here in the gallery today with other parents who also lost their child to fentanyl. She has been present for every step of the progress we have taken this Congress. I thank Juli for her fierce advocacy and for fighting to advance laws that will prevent future fentanyl-related deaths. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill so we can honor Tyler and prevent fentanyl deaths in the future.
“I thank the mothers for their work. I offer sympathies. We are honoring their children tonight. I want the bill to pass. I will vote yes. I yield back the balance of my time.”
“I want the House to pass this bill. We have worked on it for a long time, and I will vote yes.”
“Mr. Speaker, I appreciate all of the moms who have been working with us. We really appreciate their hard work. Our sympathies are with them, and we are glad that their children are being honored tonight. This is final passage, and we have been working on this for quite a while. Mr. Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on the bill, I look forward to voting for it in just a couple of seconds, and I yield back the balance of my time.”
Official Congressional Record
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate all of the moms who have been working with us. We really appreciate their hard work. Our sympathies are with them, and we are glad that their children are being honored tonight. This is final passage, and we have been working on this for quite a while. Mr. Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on the bill, I look forward to voting for it in just a couple of seconds, and I yield back the balance of my time.
