Rahall will testify before a Congressional committee on March 7. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, invited Rahall to the committee hearing.

In April, Rahall will participate in the first National Summit on Prescription Drug Abuse, which will work to increase national attention to a growing drug crisis and find solutions to that crisis.

"Focusing the national spotlight on Appalachia's prescription drug epidemic helps expose and unearth the root causes of the scourge that runs deep and wide across most of the country," Rahall said.

"With a national audience we can have more access to resources to help resolve this crisis draining our families, communities and our economy."

Rahall is a senior member of the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse.

"Southern West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky share many virtues and opportunities, but we both are plagued by prescription drug abuse," Rahall said.

Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., and Rahall organized the March Congressional hearing. Rogers is also organizing the national summit in April that will focus on prescription drug abuse.

Last week, Rahall said he and Rogers "are singing from the same hymnal to engage a united effort of national, regional, and multi-county resources to combat the drug abuse scourge."

Other Congressional participants in the national summit will include Reps. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., and Stephen Lynch, D-Mass.

The summit will explore the impact growing drug abuse is having on families, local workforces and regional economies.

"With almost every sector of our economy being impacted, I believe we can build a coalition of strong national partners -- public and private, non-profit and for-profit entities -- which can help bring important resources to the table," Rahall said. "We have people, aged 9 to 90, endangering their health."

Last year, Rahall introduced the Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (H.R. 1925), a measure similar to one introduced in the Senate by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

The bill would promote physician and consumer education. It would also provide federal funding to help states create and maintain prescription drug monitoring programs. All states would have access to information collected by those monitoring program.

Last year, Rahall hosted a summit in Wyoming County where federal, state and local officials discussed the growing problem of abusing prescription drugs in West Virginia.

Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.