Political Quotes

“I thank Ms. Clark and Mr. Guinta for their hard work in making this Special Order happen tonight and in moving forward on this very, very important issue. Mr. Speaker, opioid use is an epidemic in this country, and unfortunately the problem is only getting worse. I want to also commend Senator Rob Portman for his leadership in introducing and passing in the other body CARA, legislation to combat opioids, especially heroin. I would expect that whatever we pass here in the House--and we are considering a number of bills--will ultimately be reconciled with the Senate and Mr. Portman's bill over in the Senate. This will help many struggling Americans. I talked to a member of a city council in one of the smaller communities in my district back in--I represent the greater Cincinnati area--in Lorain County. It happened to be North Bend. According to the last census, there are only 857 people who live in the entire village, so it is pretty small. But the first councilperson that I talked to talked about the heroin problem they are having in this community. This is a very small community, kind of a normal, middle class area. There are great people, families, hardworking people. Yet, heroin is becoming a scourge in this community. William Henry Harrison, one of our earlier presidents--he has his monument and was buried--is from this community. It is just amazing to me to think that if it is hitting a small community like this, it is hitting virtually everywhere.…”