Changing the House
Following the September 25 announcement that then-House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) would be resigning from Congress at the end of October, many discussions took place regarding future leadership in the House of Representatives. In recent weeks, I and others have been working together to attempt to craft proposed changes to House Republican Conference rules and U.S. House of Representatives rules in an effort to ensure that the chamber follows a more regular order and to better adhere to the principles of Thomas Jefferson’s Manual of Parliamentary Practice.
These discussions will continue.
Prior to the election of Speaker, Paul D. Ryan (WI-01) spoke with numerous individuals – including members of the House Freedom Caucus – and emphasized his support for rules changes.
However, more important than what he may have said privately to any particular group is what he said publicly following his election.
On October 29, Speaker Ryan reiterated in his speech, “The House is broken. We are not solving problems. We are adding to them. … Neither the members nor the people are satisfied with how things are going. We need to make some changes, starting with how the House does business.”
Interestingly, he also said, “A neglected minority will gum up the works. A respected minority will work in good faith. Instead of trying to stop the majority, they might try to become the majority.” Many in the press thought this was a reference to the Democrats. But Speaker Ryan indicated on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Sunday show that it could also refer to a minority of Republicans.
I pray that our changes to the process will return the United States House of Representatives to a true deliberative body. And I hope that the body will rise to the occasion and prove to the American people that we will conduct their business in a more transparent manner.
I believe Speaker Ryan is sincere about making the House of Representatives – which by design is supposed to mirror the will of the American people – more reflective of the wishes of the people and more respectful of the rights of all Members of Congress to at least have the opportunity to be heard on issues of importance. Accordingly, I voted for Paul Ryan to be the next Speaker of the House.
Meningitis Victims’ Worries Continue
As you may recall, the President in 2013 signed into law a bill I worked on – the Drug Quality and Security Act – which ensures the safety of compounded drugs, eliminating perceived confusion as to the oversight of pharmacies like the New England Compounding Center (NECC) that worked the system to skirt both Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and state regulations. Unfortunately, while this law is too late for some, I believe it is helping to save lives by preventing another NECC-type outbreak from occurring.
I bring this law up again because I noticed in the October 30 Roanoke Times an article about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issuing an update on the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak associated with sterile compounded injections from the NECC. According to the CDC report, a patient injected with tainted steroids developed fungal meningitis in November 2014, 26 months after having received the injection. This patient brings the total number of cases to 753.
The Roanoke Times reported, “Some patients of Insight Imaging in Roanoke and New River Valley Surgery Center in Montgomery County received the tainted injections.” In our region, we are currently aware of 2 deaths and 50 reported cases of fungal meningitis associated with this outbreak.
The CDC did note in its report that while this case seems to be related to the outbreak, “It is unclear whether this late onset case of meningitis is directly attributable to the contaminated steroid injection or arose from an unrelated etiology.” The CDC urges doctors and patients to continue remaining watchful for symptoms of infection, as “…fungal infections can develop slowly and are difficult to eradicate.”
If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office. You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov. Also on my website is the latest material from my office, including information on votes recently taken on the floor of the House of Representatives.
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