Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the opioid crisis has left no one untouched by its destruction. Every age, sex, race, and socioeconomic class has felt the weight of the opioid epidemic and the disastrous effects it has on the lives of those in our Nation. As this epidemic continues to grow, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of children who are suffering opioid overdoses. A study published in Pediatrics earlier this year found that the number of children admitted to hospitals from opioid overdoses has nearly doubled since 2004. Another study found that kids between 12 and 17 accounted for 60 percent of the opioid overdoses in the pediatric population. In 2016, nearly 4,000 children and young adults between the ages of 5 and 24 years old died from overdose due to opioids, and that is why I support H.R. 449. This bipartisan legislation would require the Surgeon General to report on the public health impacts of synthetic drug use and abuse by adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18. Surgeon General reports have produced some of the most preeminent public health data available on some of the Nation's most pressing public health crises, from the adverse health consequences of tobacco use to reports on nutrition, HIV/AIDS, and violence.…”