Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I too rise in support of H.R. 2466, the State Opioid Response Grant Authorization Act which, as you heard, was introduced by Representatives Trone, Armstrong, Sherrill, and Riggleman. I would like to thank Representative Trone for leading this work on this bill and for working with us to get the language to a good place. We appreciate that. When I chaired the Energy and Commerce Committee, I think we passed out something like 60 or more pieces of legislation dealing with the opioid crisis. All of them were cosponsored by Democrats and Republicans--bipartisan effort--that became the SUPPORT Act signed by President Trump into law now almost over 2 years ago. I just want to say this epidemic continues, and so does our work. It has been made worse by the pandemic as people have turned to these sorts of medications to help themselves cope, and it is sad. This important bill would authorize appropriations for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's State Opioid Response grant program by placing it under the 21st Century Cures Act, which first established State Response to Opioid Abuse Crisis grants. The United States remains in the midst of this opioid crisis, and it has been exacerbated, as I said, by the COVID-19 pandemic.…”