On the recordMay 13, 2016
The opioid and heroin crisis has hit home for everyone, impacting our coworkers, our neighbors, and our friends in every corner of this country. In Sacramento, my district, the deadly consequences of fentanyl are devastating our families. The faces behind this tragedy are people like 28-year-old Jerome Butler, a young father whose life was cut short because of a tainted pill. The human toll of this crisis demands our leadership. This week, we took a step forward by passing a number of bipartisan bills to address the opioid epidemic, many of which we worked on in the Energy and Commerce Committee. {time} 1100 But we can and must do more. We need new funding to confront this tragedy. My Democratic colleagues and I are ready to fund the President's $1.1 billion request for this crisis. We need a real investment to meet the challenges our committees are facing every day. As we advance substance abuse legislation and continue our important work on comprehensive behavioral health reform, I urge my colleagues to focus on solutions that both adequately address the immediate crisis and long-term community prevention strategies. The families reeling from the tragedies of this epidemic deserve nothing less than our swift action and full support.
