Political Quotes

“this week, this body is talking about one of the most serious problems facing our country. The word ``epidemic'' really isn't strong enough to represent what we are seeing in terms of drug addiction--opioids and heroin, in particular. The bipartisan support for the bill that is on the floor this week is an indication of the belief of Members of both parties, of all parties of all parts of the country, that this is a critically important question. We have heard the appalling figures in committees and caucuses and on the floor. In the State of Maine, there are 200 deaths a year from overdoses. This is an eightfold increase in the last 3 years. The figure that got my attention most dramatically was that a year ago in Maine, we had 12,000 babies born, and of that number over 950 were addicted to a substance. That is almost 1 in 12 babies born in my State. Nationally, the figures are just as shocking and as bad. In my neighboring State of New Hampshire, the number of overdose deaths is now over 380 a year. It is more than one a day. Nationally, there are 47,000 overdose deaths--more deaths than are caused by automobiles. If this were Ebola or ISIS or any other kind of national crisis, we would be in 24-hour session to find a solution. We would be doing everything the equivalent of the Manhattan Project to deal with something that is killing so many of our citizens, particularly our young people. Like any other problem that gets to this body, this is complicated.…”