Political Quotes

“I rise today on another topic that is affecting every single State represented here in this Chamber, and that is the opioid epidemic. This is heroin, prescription drugs, and increasingly the synthetic heroin coming into our State and poisoning the people we represent, leading to a situation where we have about 120 people dying every day of overdoses--about 5 a day in my State of Ohio. Unfortunately, I have to report today that it is getting worse, not better. I also believe that Congress is beginning to take the right steps to address that, and that is what I want to talk about today. This is the 28th time I have come to the floor to talk about this issue this year because it is one that affects every State, but particularly mine. I come from Ohio. It is a State that recently, based on a new report, was named as one of the top States in the country for overdoses and, unfortunately, the tragedy of overdose deaths. For those who die from overdoses, it is a tragedy, of course. But, frankly, it is the tip of the iceberg because there are so many people whose lives are shattered, whose lives are torn apart, who are not going to work and whose communities are facing more and more crime because of this issue. It was addressed here in this Chamber recently by the legislation I want to talk about today, but it is something we must find a way to deal with immediately because of the urgency of the problem.…”