Annie Kuster: “I thank my friend from Colorado for yielding, and I also thank the Representative from Georgia (Mr. Collins) for his…”

“I thank my friend from Colorado for yielding, and I also thank the Representative from Georgia (Mr. Collins) for his words. In New Hampshire, right now, we have a four-times-greater chance of dying from a heroin or opiate overdose than a car accident, as you have pointed out in national statistics. This morning, I rise to say that I am proud of what the House has been able to accomplish this week in a bipartisan way by working to address this critical challenge of substance use disorder that is devastating communities in my home State of New Hampshire and all across the country. Last year, I had the honor to cofound with my colleague from New Hampshire (Mr. Guinta) the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic to address the critical problems that heroin and opioid addiction are bringing to every corner of my district and most parts of the country. The membership of the task force now includes 83 members, about half Republicans and Democrats, who are dedicated to fighting this problem. Last month, we unveiled a legislative package of 15 bills to fight this epidemic, and we are pleased that many of these bills and provisions have been included in the package this week. To mark the start of opioid week, we held a Special Order on Tuesday evening, when over 20 Members from both sides of the aisle came to the floor to share personal stories of friends and family who had been affected by the heroin epidemic.…”