Fighting Crime
In 2010, Forbes listed Kentucky as the fourth “most medicated” state, and in the past year we had one of the highest reports of non-medical use of pain killers, drugs like OxyContin, Lortab, and Percocet.
In 2010, Forbes listed Kentucky as the fourth “most medicated” state, and in the past year we had one of the highest reports of non-medical use of pain killers, drugs like OxyContin, Lortab, and Percocet. Most alarmingly we are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of deaths from these drugs—around 82 each month. To combat the problem, I helped start the KASPER, Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting, system in 1999. This prescription pill monitoring program has been very successful in Kentucky, and has made a big difference. However, KASPER can only be successful when it is used. Currently it is not mandatory and it cannot regulate pills flowing in from other states.
It is time to do something to level the playing field by fully supporting NASPER, the National All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting system, a prescription monitoring program based on KASPER but on a national scale. The program was signed into law in 2005, but was never fully funded. So effectively, NASPER exists, and can provide some grants, but the full potential of this program is not being met. With the help of R. Gil Kerlikowske, White House Director of National Drug Control Policy, we were able to get a number of stakeholders, from UK, to recovery centers like the Hope Center and Chrysalis House, to state law enforcement, to lawmakers all in the same room earlier this year. Local law enforcement and local advocates from a few affected counties in the district were also invited to be part of the conversation. We need our states working together seamlessly and efficiently to combat this problem, and NASPER is one of our best chances to do just that. In March, I cosponsored the NASPER Reauthorization Act of 2011.
Read more on prescription pill abuse in Kentucky
The persistence of criminal gangs, which has been linked to illegal drug activity and other forms of violence, continues to threaten the well-being of our nation. To help end the reign of these gangs, I introduced a bill to expand the successful Project Safe Neighborhoods program, including resources to identify, investigate, and prosecute criminal gangs.
I feel very strongly that we must take special precautions when dealing with criminals who prey on the most vulnerable populations in our society. I introduced the Elder Abuse Prevention Act in February of 2011. This legislation requires states to adopt laws and policies that prohibit parole for any individual who is convicted of a criminal sexual offense against a victim who is elderly, or for a sexually violent predator. Additionally, I have introduced the No Parole for Sex Offenders Act , which insures that a sexually violent predator or an individual convicted of a criminal offense against a minor is not eligible for parole. Over the past few years, we have seen several high-profile cases of abducted and murdered children by sex offenders, and there are many more cases that go unreported by the media. As the father of three children, I realize that it is Congress' duty to act now in order to protect our nation's children.