Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2379 to extend and broaden our efforts to help Americans with substance use disorder get the help they need to help prevent addiction and to save lives. I thank my friends, Mr. Trone and Ms. Sherrill, for their leadership. Earlier this year, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that opioid response grantees will now be able to use these funds to expand access to fentanyl test strips. Tragically, that announcement came just 1 month after the death of my dear nephew, Eli Weinstock. At just 20 years old, Eli died of an unintentional fentanyl overdose after ingesting a legal herbal supplement tainted with fentanyl. Out of our grief, Eli's family created an organization, BirdieLight, to increase awareness of fentanyl risks and the tools like fentanyl test strips needed to save lives. From 2019 to 2020, overdose deaths spiked by over 22,000 to a record 93,331 Americans who died of overdose in 2020. Young people aged 15 to 24 saw a nearly 50 percent increase in 1 year. Last month, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued its first public safety alert in 6 years to warn of the surge of counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl. The DEA has seized over 11.3 million fake pills over the past year, more than the previous 2 years combined.…”