Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, I rise to offer an amendment transferring $15 million to the CDC's Opioid-Related Infectious Disease program. Madam Chair, one of the deadly consequences of the opioid crisis and its related use of contaminated drug equipment has been the increased incidence of blood-borne infections, including hepatitis, HIV, and bacteria-caused heart infections. The CDC's infectious disease program works to implement evidence- based drug prevention in schools and community settings. The opioid crisis has impacted nearly every community in the United States, rich and poor, rural and urban, and people of all racial and cultural identities. In my own home borough of the Bronx, fatal overdoses are now at their highest rate since official data has even been made public, and 85 percent of those overdoses involved opioids. In order for us to really approach and solve this issue, we have to make sure that we are adequately funding programs that are backed by evidence and backed by studies and funded in a way that reduces the load and reduces the incidence of fatality. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.”