Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4063, as amended, the Jason Simcakoski PROMISE Act. I would like to thank my friend from Florida, the vice chair of the committee, Congressman Gus Bilirakis, for introducing this bill and for his passionate leadership on this very important issue. Mr. Speaker, I also would like to take a moment to thank Chairman Miller for his extraordinary leadership on this bill and on issues that pertain to veterans generally. I thank the chairman so much for all of his work. In fact, the rumor among our colleagues is that he runs the most bipartisan committee on Capitol Hill. I thank him for his leadership. The epidemic of opioid addiction and overdose deaths is a national problem. It is a public health crisis, Mr. Speaker, that affects constituents living in all of our districts and all of our States. Opioid use disorder is a chronic relapsing disease of the brain. Yet, the stigma associated with opioid use disorder keeps people from seeking, accessing, or maintaining treatment. In 2014, according to The New York Times, over 47,000 people died from a drug overdose. That is 125 Americans each day who lost their lives due to addiction or abuse. Of these, more than 61 percent involved opioids. Across the country, Mr.…”