Political Quotes

“Woman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am pleased to rise in support of H.R. 5046, the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act. H.R. 5046 is an important complement to a wide range of legislation being considered in the House this week that is aimed at combating the devastating impact of drug abuse and addiction that is afflicting communities across our Nation. We are, in fact, in the midst of a major public health crisis caused by prescription and opioid abuse. It is a crisis that affects Americans of all ages, races, and income levels in our cities, suburbs, and rural areas across the United States. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death in our Nation. In my State of Michigan, for example, there were 1,745 drug overdose deaths in 2014, and more than half of these overdose deaths were attributed to opioids and heroin. In fact, 78 Americans die from an opioid overdose every single day. I am very familiar with the devastation heroin can exact over people and their communities. Heroin took a deadly toll on Detroit in the 1970s and is now threatening to take hold of a new generation of addicts. Armed with lessons learned from that era and the crack epidemic of the 1980s, we are wiser and more capable. This time we can and must do more to respond to this crisis.…”