Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to the opioid crisis in Arkansas and across our Nation. Each day, over 250 individuals lose their lives to an opioid-related overdose. According to the CDC, we lost a record number of 99,106 people between March 2020 and March 2021. What a milestone. What a grim milestone. My home State of Arkansas has one of the highest opioid-prescribing rates in our Nation. In Arkansas alone, we lost at least 225 of our neighbors in this crisis. Opioid misuse and addiction begin at home, coming from a familiar medicine cabinet. More Americans lose their lives to addiction than from car accidents, guns, or HIV. This is a crisis, a growing crisis, and one that is reaching new highs. These deaths are preventable, and it is up to each of us to do our part to save lives and combat the disease that is addiction. That is why, last September, I introduced the bipartisan Preventing Overdoses and Saving Lives Act with my colleague from Michigan, Representative Debbie Dingell. My bipartisan bill will create a grant program allowing States and localities to conduct research on the opioid crisis, create a strategic plan on how to respond to the crisis, and implement co-prescribing under certain circumstances. Increasing access to naloxone reduces opioid fatalities. If this bill passes, it will save lives. Madam Speaker, we have seen that in Arkansas, one of 14 States that offers co-prescriptions for opioid prescription recipients.…”