Political Quotes

“I thank Dr. Burgess and appreciate his leadership on this issue and the hard work he and his members on both sides of the aisle have done on the Subcommittee on Health in the Energy and Commerce Committee. As we all know, the opioid crisis is wreaking havoc and death on our Nation. It is striking at the heart of communities from one side of the country to the other. On any given day, you can browse the headlines to learn of yet another life lost to addiction or about a raid that seized overwhelming quantities of prescription painkillers or illicit drugs. At roundtables throughout my district in Oregon over the last few years, I have met with those victims. I have met with their families. I have talked to doctors and treatment advocates. I have met with law enforcement officers on the front lines of this fight. Sadly, their stories are all too similar and all too familiar, but they put the names and faces to this crisis that has touched every community in our country. We are here tonight because this crisis is having a devastating impact on each of our districts and the people who live in them. No community is exempt from the scourge of addiction. Nobody is immune from the dangers of powerful drugs. The crisis has taken a hold on the very fabric of our Nation, and we must do everything we can to stem the tide of addiction, to help those who are addicted, and to stop the deaths and destruction that follow the abuse of opiates.…”