Mr. Chairman, thank you for scheduling today's hearing. As you know, I have a long-standing interest in the burgeoning problem of prescription drug abuse. Today's hearing is aimed at providing us with information on one aspect of this problem, the need to monitor prescription issuance and dispensing of controlled substances through our health care system. I welcome an examination of key issues and options for addressing them. My State of Michigan has a prescription drug monitoring program and I hope that our witnesses will comment on how that program compares with others around the Nation.

Let me hasten to add, however, that the problem of abuse of controlled substances is far broader than the matters that will be discussed today. If we could instantly create a nationwide system of robust prescription drug monitoring programs, we would not eliminate the problem. Why? Currently tens of thousands of U.S. citizens make monthly trips to Mexico to buy myriad drugs from the hundreds of pharmacies that exist within easy walking distance of the border. Policies allow -- and may even encourage -- U.S. citizens to shop for their drugs in Mexico, and our regulatory agencies seem to know almost nothing about the quality or sources of these drugs. Moreover, as the Oversight Subcommittee has shown, access to mail-order pharmaceuticals through the Internet has generated thousands of shipments of unexamined drug products, including controlled substances, into this country. Any light that our witnesses could shed on this broader difficulty would be greatly appreciated.

Prescription drug monitoring programs are a good start, but more will need to be done to fight prescription drug abuse. I thank the witnesses for their appearance here today.