Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, the underlying bill before us authorizes the creation of an interagency task force to combat the opiate epidemic. I want to commend the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Brooks) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Kennedy) for their hard work on this issue. This important legislation will make it easier to tackle this crisis in a holistic way that addresses all angles of the crisis, including law enforcement, education and prevention, and, most importantly, treatment and lifelong recovery. I thank Congresswoman Brooks and Congressman Kennedy for their great work on this bill, as well as the leadership of the chair and the ranking member. {time} 1445 In fact, a similar provision to this legislation was included in the STOP ABUSE Act that I introduced with my colleague, Mr. Guinta, last year. Today he has joined me in introducing this important bipartisan amendment that will further improve the scope of the task force's effort. In New Hampshire and across the country, four out of every five heroin users started out misusing prescription opioid medication. Last year more than 25,000 people died across this country from overdoses on prescription drugs. There are complex reasons for why we have seen such a dramatic rise in prescription drug misuse, but one of the causes that we must examine more closely is prescribing practices and overprescribing.…”