U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-1, on Tuesday addressed a crowd of about 100 at the Brunswick Exchange Club ahead of the Nov. 6 midterm elections.
Carter, a two-term Republican from Pooler seeking re-election, spoke at length about his legislative successes, including attempts to stem opioid addiction across America, obtaining funding for maintenance of Georgia’s ports and federal tax cuts.
He began, however, by addressing the outsized confirmation hearing of now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate 50-48 and sworn in Oct. 6. Kavanaugh had faced allegations of sexual assault, which were investigated by the Senate Judiciary Committee and FBI and bitterly divided the nation.
“I want to say that sexual assault is always something we all take very seriously, and it should be taken seriously,” Carter told the predominantly male crowd. “I was proud of the process and the way it worked, even though this was brought up at the very last minute, the Senate still went through the process. ...Whether you agree or disagree with his appointment, I think we can all agree that the process worked, and I’m very proud of that.”
Carter quickly turned from national politics to his legislative accomplishments. Particularly, as the only former pharmacists in Congress, he touted his work to reduce opioid overdoses and addiction. The Centers for Disease Control estimate 115 people die daily in America by overdosing on opioids, and addiction costs the nation at least $78.5 billion annually.
“What do you do with those 2.5 million people who are currently addicted?” Carter asked rhetorically. “How do we get them back into being productive members of our society? They’re not bad people. They’re good people, they just have a problem and they need help.”
He mentioned two pieces of legislation — The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act and the 21st Century Cures Act — as examples of Congress’ work to tackle the opioid crisis. Congress passed those laws in 2016, and they were signed into law by then-President Barack Obama.
More recently, Carter introduced three bills that were included in a bipartisan, bicameral package of opioid relief bills that passed both chambers recently and awaits President Donald Trump’s signature.
One of Carter’s three provisions is aimed at making it easier for doctors using telemedicine to treat patients with medication. Another directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study how Medicare patients may better access drugs that are less likely to be abused. The third was a bipartisan proposal Carter worked with U.S. Rep Mark DeSaulnier, a California Democrat, to include in the package. It requires the federal government to better educate pharmacists about when they are allow by law to decline to fill a prescription for controlled drugs. Instances might include suspected forgery, fraud or other alterations.
Perhaps Carter’s greatest legislative achievement this year was the so-called pharmacists’ “gag clause” prohibition that was signed into law by President Trump earlier this month.
Prior to the legislation, pharmacists were barred from telling patients it would be less costly for them to pay out of pocket for prescriptions, rather than using a co-pay.
“Your pharmacy, specifically the pharmacy benefits manager, called the PBM, have clauses in their contracts that say the pharmacists cannot tell you if you pay cash or out-of-pocket that it would be cheaper to get that medication than if you pay with your co-pay,” Carter told the Exchange Club. “The pharmacists can’t tell you that. If they did, they would be penalized or even kicked out of the network. From now on, the pharmacists will be able to tell you that.”
Shifting gears, Carter spoke of the economy, national debt and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which Congress passed in December 2017.
“Folks, our economy is going great, arguably better than it’s ever been,” he said. “Growth is in the 4.2 percent range. Finally, we’ve gotten out of that anemic 1-1.5 percent growth rate that we were in.
“Many of you know, and I was here, and I said when I was running for office, one of the primary reasons I wanted to go to Washington, D.C., was I wanted to do something about our national debt. Twenty-three trillion dollars.
“I’ve always said we have to do three things: We have to cut spending; We have to do entitlement reform; and we have to grow our way out of it.
“Finally, as I said, we’re seeing the growth we need. If we can keep it around 4 to 5 percent and control our spending, we can do something about our national debt, and we will do something about it.”
The Associated Press reported Monday the federal budget deficit rose to $779 billion in fiscal year 2018, which is the highest level in six years. The Treasury Department announced Monday the deficit is likely to worsen in coming years and top $1 trillion by 2019, nearly reaching its rate of $1.1 trillion in 2012.
The deficit is rising because tax revenues are not matching the government’s spending. Fiscal year 2018’s tax revenues were “essentially flat,” the AP reported, while Congress increased spending by 3.2 percent, mostly for military and domestic programs.
Ending his remarks close to home, Carter touched on the Terry Creek Superfund site in Brunswick. The several-acre tract along U.S. Highway 17 across from the Pinova plant is contaminated with toxic pesticides that can cause cancer in humans. The Environmental Protection Agency is currently working on a plan to remediate the site that would essentially cover it over with new dirt and put down a concrete drainage canal to prevent further contamination into nearby marsh.
Carter joined the Glynn County and Brunswick City commissions in calling the plan “not acceptable,” saying he wants to see the contaminated land removed and replaced with clean soil. He said he hand-delivered a letter regarding the proposed EPA cleanup plan to the acting EPA director recently.
The congressman also took questions from Exchange Club members.
