Political Quotes

“We as a Congress have worked over the past several years to combat the opioid epidemic and support the millions of Americans with a substance use disorder. That work includes bipartisan efforts to pass legislation like the 21st Century Cures Act, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), and the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. Just last month, in the Fiscal Year 2020 funding bill, we supported a public health response to this epidemic with over $4 billion to help with Federal substance abuse treatment and prevention efforts. Also last month, the House passed H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which included an additional $10 billion in funding to support public health efforts at the Department of Health and Human Services to combat the opioid epidemic. Earlier this month, the Energy and Commerce Committee had a chance to hear directly from States on how our federal support through these legislative actions has helped save lives. Although we've witnessed an improvement in the number of year-to-year overdose deaths, the availability of synthetic opioids like fentanyl is hindering the progress we've made. Fentanyl is a deadly synthetic drug that is 50 times more powerful than heroin, and 100 times more powerful than morphine. Although it is used in medical settings, we have seen a proliferation of illicitly produced fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and its precursor chemicals originating from China.…”