Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, our Nation is in the middle of a public health crisis. Drug overdoses are now killing more Americans each year than car accidents. And 336 Rhode Islanders died last year as a result of a drug overdose. That is up from 290 in 2015 and 238 deaths in 2014. Nationwide, overdose deaths involving prescription and illicit opioids have quadrupled since 1999. This is a crisis that threatens Americans of all different backgrounds--young and old, Black and White, urban and rural. It is a crisis, plain and simple. All of us who serve the government have a responsibility to stop it. That is why I was so alarmed earlier this month when I learned that President Trump is considering slashing funding for the Office of National Drug Control Policy by 95 percent. Slashing funding for the lead Federal agency in this fight would have a devastating impact on families in Rhode Island and all across our country. Let's work together. Let's work across the aisle, Democrats and Republicans, to defeat this short-sighted proposal and, instead, advance real, comprehensive solutions to this public health epidemic. ____________________”