Political Quotes

“The crisis of opioid abuse and addiction clearly requires our immediate attention. I believe that that is now happening. I am grateful for the tireless work of my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee. I thank Chairman Goodlatte; Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee chairman, Jim Sensenbrenner; Crime Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee ranking member, Sheila Jackson Lee; and their staffs. And I also congratulate Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, who worked so hard to ensure this bill would find promising approaches to opioid abuse that were pioneered in her district. Finally, I wish to thank the ranking member, Frank Pallone of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and his staff for their assistance and coordination in this effort. Our work has focused on the need to address an urgent crisis. In my State of Michigan, there were 1,745 drug overdoses in the year 2014, and more than half of those overdose deaths were caused by opioids and heroin. Each day, 78 Americans die from an opioid overdose. Fortunately, we now have a better way of addressing issues of addiction, and we know that incarceration is not the answer.…”