Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss a recent community forum I held at Binghamton University to raise awareness about the heroin and opioid epidemic ravaging our country. Every day in America, more than 144 Americans die of a drug overdose. In Broome County, where our forum was held, 76 people died of an overdose last year, 90 percent from opioids. Before the forum, I had the opportunity to tour the New Horizons Alcohol & Chemical Dependency program at United Health Services to see firsthand the arduous work our healthcare professionals are undertaking to fight back against this disease. In addition to the tour, the forum highlighted that our panel of healthcare professionals, law enforcement agencies, and community organizations continues to struggle to keep pace with the rise of addiction, and it became clear to me by the end of the forum that more resources are needed. It was an honor to bring together members of our community to talk about solutions and highlight that there is hope for the future. I look forward to taking those ideas that I learned at the forum and putting those ideas into action by working with my colleagues to reduce and eliminate the scourge of addiction. ____________________”