By Jim Renacci In 1968, The New York Times published an article highlighting the resilience of a species. "A nuclear war, if it comes, will not be won by the Americans … the Russians … the Chinese. The winner of World War III will be the cockroach." For any of you who have lived in a city surrounded by heat, trash, and water, you are bound to chuckle at this thought. Yes, the cockroach is a proven survivor, but the American is a fighter. We founded this country fighting for our freedom and we created generations of driven Americans who are fighting for exceptionalism. Unfortunately, there is something that is taking away our fight, our drive, our passion, and it is opioids. These prescription drugs are numbing our senses and ravaging our communities. Imagine if every little boy under the age of five in the Dayton City School District disappeared in a single academic year? That's about 5,126 boys, and 5,232 people died in Ohio last year from overdoses. The craziest part about that number is that it rose 39 percent from 2016. Now, many of these deaths were due to illicit drug use, but since 2006, over 7,000 Ohioans have died from overdosing on prescription opioids. These are people who received this medication through drug diversion, resale, or through a legal prescription from their doctor that had too high a dosage. This problem is readily apparent in the Medicare Part D program. In 2016, over 500,000 Medicare beneficiaries were written prescriptions for opioids at nearly 2 ½ times the recommended maximum for long-term usage. Nearly 70,000 beneficiaries were written prescriptions at almost 5 times that recommended max. Whether through providers' lack of training on appropriate dosages or -- at worst, through negligence or fraudulent and abusive prescribing -- there are hundreds of thousands of seniors who are being unnecessarily exposed to health risks and addiction. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which runs the Medicare program, does have an Opioid Misuse Strategy, which aims to lower opioid overprescribing, drug diversion, and fraud within the Part D program. While these are all laudable goals, CMS itself has handicapped its ability to measure its progress. CMS currently requires all health insurers offering Part D or Medicare Advantage plans to institute a compliance program to detect fraud, waste, and abuse and take corrective action against providers engaging in misconduct. However, while it encourages them to report this fraud, waste, and abuse they find, it doesn't actually require them to do so. This makes no sense when CMS has goals to eliminate these very things. How are we supposed to eliminate drug diversion if we don't know the number of fraudulent providers who are engaging in it? How are we supposed to eliminate overprescribing if we don't know what steps are being taken to end it? Remember, when plan sponsors do share information with CMS and ask for help in their investigations, they often find the agency to be a black box. CMS is not required to share with them the results of its own investigations and corrective actions, as well as information on misconduct and fraud schemes reported by other plan sponsors. The lack of transparency and communication significantly undermines each's ability to combat fraud and abuse within the Part D program, as well as to reduce overprescribing. That's why I introduced the Strengthening Partnerships to Prevent Opioid Abuse Act, which will make common-sense changes to encourage greater data sharing and coordination between CMS and insurers. This will help each of them to reduce overprescribing, fraud, and abuse within Medicare Part D. My bill requires Part D and Medicare Advantage plan sponsors to share information on the investigations and actions they take related to providers who prescribe dangerously high volumes of opioids. It also requires CMS to respond to plans regarding their referrals and the results of its investigations. Also, by creating an online portal to facilitate this exchange of information, providers who are overprescribing or committing fraud can be easily located and appropriate action can be taken to resolve these problems. Once the fraudulent providers are removed and overprescribers are better educated on appropriate prescribing methods, fewer seniors will be at risk of overdose and addiction, allowing them to live fuller lives. Congress is not going to deliver the answer to this crisis. The 50-plus bills we pushed this month may help, but if we can start limiting some bad actors who are overprescribing, we can make a small dent in the fight. That fight, that drive, that passion that Americans collectively share, is how we are going to protect our children and grandchildren from our mistakes and allow them to continue to strive for exceptionalism.

By Rep. Jim Renacci I joined President Trump on Thursday at an event in Richfield, Ohio where he discussed his bold plan to rebuild infrastructure in America with minimal federal involvement. I'm proud to support his proposal because it's in best interests of my nearby congressional district and of America as a whole. The Council of Economic Advisers estimates the president's plan will spur significant gross domestic product growth and create hundreds of thousands of jobs. In addition, his proposal includes critical reforms to improve access to high-quality education and workforce development programs. Skills training and apprenticeship programs like those offered at the training facility run by the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 18 -- where President Trump spoke Thursday -- are a necessary resource that helps prepare workers for high-demand, good-paying jobs. President Trump understands that America's roads, bridges, and airports are collapsing. Right now, we have 80-year-old bridges built with a 40-year lifespan. Infrastructure is desperate for a facelift in Ohio and across this county. Just look at Cincinnati's Brent Spence Bridge. When it opened in 1963, it was designed to accommodate 80,000 cars per day. Today more than 160,000 cars use the bridge daily. For the last decade, the Cincinnati City Council has been working to deal with the problem. Like with any major investment project, the issue has been funding. As a businessman for the last three decades, I understand the value of a dollar. I didn't come to Congress in 2011 to spend dollars that can't produce growth, yet too often that is what Congress winds up doing. President Trump's plan calls for a private-public partnership that would spur $1.5 trillion of private investment, while only requiring $200 billion in federal spending. Half the federal funding would be allocated to an incentive program through which every state, local and private dollar invested will also receive a partial federal match. However, before the state, local and private investors can receive federal funding, each project milestone would have to be reached by a specific deadline. This gives the program a layer of accountability that is a nice change coming out of Washington. While we are creating jobs, we must also prepare our workforce to thrive within the construction industry. President Trump shares my passion for bringing vocational education and training back to schools. I don't believe college is the answer for everyone, and I have been speaking out about the importance of expanding apprenticeships, work-based learning and dual-enrollment opportunities. We must encourage course offerings in high schools to prepare students for high-skilled infrastructure jobs. It's clear as I travel the state the industry is hungry for such workers. Now it's up to Congress to draft legislation that can turn President Trump's vision of an infrastructure plan into a reality. I am hopeful that fixing our crumbling roads and bridges can be a bipartisan endeavor. America is due for improved infrastructure that increases safety and diminishes traffic congestion. Ohio deserves better and I am ready to put Ohio first.

By Rep. Jim Renacci I had the honor to rise in support of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Fixing our tax code is important to all Americans, from entrepreneurs to business owners to families to everyday Americans trying to make ends meet. While there are many stories I can tell you to describe the headaches of our tax code, I've never forgotten about a young entrepreneur starting out in the world three decades ago. This 24-year-old decided to start a business in Ohio, so he borrowed money and hired some people. As his business grew, he didn't take a paycheck and continued hiring hardworking, middle-class Americans. But he reached a point where he couldn't hire any more because of the tremendous tax bill owed to the federal government. The 24-year-old was me 30-some years ago. Keep in mind that I happen to be a certified public accountant (CPA). Over time, I was able to figure out a way to grow my business instead of watching it die within the suffocating grip of our tax code. But it wasn't easy. And things are even harder today than they were when I was starting out. It's time for change. This Legislation will help jump-start our nation's economy and pave the way for growth. According to the Tax Foundation, the House tax bill would create more than 900,000 jobs over the next decade. This means more opportunities and take-home pay for Americans. As a CPA and member of the tax-writing committee, I've made it my mission in Washington to fix our broken tax code. The American people deserve better than the status quo. It's time we give citizens the tax code they need to compete and prosper in the 21st century.