Paul Gosar: “I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for yielding. Mr. Speaker, a study came out earlier this year that said the…”

“I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for yielding. Mr. Speaker, a study came out earlier this year that said the opioid epidemic today is deadlier than the Vietnam war in 1968. That study found that opioids had cost our country more than 1.7 million years of life. Those are moments of joy, family, and community that are lost irrevocably. And as we move into the Christmas season, it is worth thinking about the millions of American families dealing with addiction and overdose tragedies. We have done a great deal in Congress to try to fight the epidemic, from beefing up grants, to tougher law enforcement, to fixing the pain medication guidelines, to cracking down on bad actors in the pharmaceutical industry. But we have not addressed the immigration issue, which is central to the crisis. The book, ``Dreamland,'' written by veteran L.A. Times Reporter Sam Quinones, provides one of the most definitive accounts of how we got to this grim place we are today. It details how Mexican nationals south of Arizona pioneered a new model of drug distribution, decentralized and customer centric, that successfully flooded our towns and cities with black tar heroin just as the availability of prescription opioids was ebbing.…”