On the recordOctober 30, 2019
just over a year ago, President Trump signed into law the most comprehensive and sweeping opioid response package in the Nation's history, a piece of legislation that passed this body with overwhelming bipartisan support--a rarity in gridlocked Washington. The reason we came together was simple: Opioid abuse is tearing apart families, straining our law enforcement and emergency services, and engulfing our communities. Young mothers with precious babies and young people in the prime of their lives are focused on fentanyl rather than finding their path toward success. This crippling epidemic has touched the lives of Iowans from all walks of life and from all areas of our State. We have seen the harrowing statistics and the ongoing struggles that many of our loved ones face. In Iowa, we also struggle with an ongoing meth epidemic that further threatens our communities. In just one of many statistics, the number of children put into foster care in the United States due to parental drug use nearly doubled from 2000 to 2017. I have heard so many heartbreaking stories from families who have a loved one battling addiction. A mom from Polk County shared with me her son's 7-year battle with addiction and how the vicious disease affects all levels of society, including our friends, our neighbors, and in her case, her family.…





