Newsletter: Gun Safety, Opioids, and Art Competition

March 6, 2018

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Dear Friends,

Last week was an extraordinarily busy news week, but I want to take a moment to focus on two issues of importance: reducing gun violence and addressing the opioid epidemic.

Please read on for more information about these issues, as well as an announcement about the annual Congressional Art Competition, and community resources available to help with taxes.

MEETING WITH SURVIVORS OF PARKLAND SHOOTING

Last Tuesday, I had the opportunity to sit down with and hear the poignant personal stories of some of the student survivors of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. They shared their fear, their grief, and also their hope that Congress will finally take action on measures to reduce gun violence. As parents and Representatives, we have a responsibility to protect our children, and I am so inspired by their courage to create positive action out of this tragedy.

I was also proud to join more than 150 of my colleagues to reintroduce a ban on assault weapons. These military-style weapons do not belong on our streets. Learn more about that effort on our website.

HEARING ON OPIOID LEGISLATION

The House Energy & Commerce committee convened a hearing last Wednesday on a bill I introduced aimed at addressing this crisis through continuing education requirements for prescribing physicians. Witnesses, including officials from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), law enforcement, medical, pharmaceutical, and research fields, provided expert testimony and feedback on our efforts to control and treat the epidemic.

My bill, the Opioid Preventing Abuse through Continuing Education (Opioid PACE) Act would help ensure doctors have the latest knowledge on preventing, detecting, and treating opioid abuse through continuing education. Specifically, the legislation would require providers who treat patients with prescription opioids for pain management to complete continuing medical education (CME) every three years, tied to the renewal of the provider's Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) license.

I appreciated the thorough and thoughtful questioning of Chairman Burgess, Ranking Member Green, and my colleagues, as well as the insightful testimony offered by the witnesses. I look forward to continuing to work with the Committee in the days ahead to incorporate the ideas raised at the hearing and improve this legislation to address this critical issue that is affecting communities across the country without distinction of age, geography, income level, or education.

CONGRESSIONAL ART COMPETITION

We've kicked off the annual Congressional Art Competition and are accepting submissions. Area high school students are encouraged to submit outstanding pieces of art they have created in the past year, which will be judged by a panel of local educators and artists. The winning submissions will hang in the U.S. Capitol and my offices in Lincolnshire and Washington for a year. The first place winner will also receive two round-trip tickets to visit the Capitol and see their artwork hung.

We are hoping to receive submissions from throughout the district. If you are an art teacher, or just know talented high school students, please encourage them to take this opportunity to showcase their work. The deadline to submit artwork for the competition is April 13, 2018. Please drop-off all submissions at our office at 111 Barclay Blvd, Suite 200, Lincolnshire, IL (Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm).

The schools in our district are full of fantastically creative students and I can't wait to see what you create!

More important information about the competition on our website.

NEIGHBORHOOD OFFICE HOURS

Our office hosts frequent Neighborhood Office Hours for constituents to more easily meet with caseworkers and staff to discuss any federal issues that they may have and learn more about services our office can provide. We're here to help if you have issues with Medicare, Social Security, the Veterans Administration, immigration and more.

This week, we'll be in Deerfield and Waukegan. Check out the full schedule on our website and come meet with us when we're in your community!

CONSTITUENT SUCCESS STORY: HELP WITH IRS

As we continue through tax season, here's a friendly reminder that constituent service representatives in our office can help you with issues involving the IRS. Here's one recent example from a Glencoe constituent:

Eileen contacted our office after the IRS claimed she had not reported her taxes correctly. The problem was in fact an IRS mistake. "Congressman Schneider's office helped us from beginning to end. His team was courteous, responsive, and resolved the problem – no problem!" said Eileen.

There are also sites throughout the Tenth District where IRS-certified volunteers are available to provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals. Learn more here.

WEEKLY WRAP-UP

I spent time on Tuesday morning calling principals and superintendents at Tenth District schools to hear how they and their students are reacting to the Parkland shooting and how I can support their work to keep our students safe.

I had a very informative meeting with representatives of several Illinois food banks, including the Northern Illinois Food Bank and Greater Chicago Food Depository about defending SNAP and other programs that are vital to solving hunger in our communities.

I was happy to learn last week that I earned a 100% rating from the League of Conservation voters for my work in Congress last year. I'm proud to work alongside organizations like the LCV to protect our environment and address global climate change.

Please continue to stay in touch and share your thoughts, either by calling our DC office at (202) 225-4835 or emailing via our website.

Thanks for reading!