Political Quotes

“Madam President, let me thank my colleague, Senator Manchin, for arranging the time to talk about the ongoing opioid epidemic across the country. I know his home State of West Virginia-- much like my home State of Rhode Island--has been hit particularly hard by this epidemic. This is not happening in some far off place or some distant country. It is happening in Rhode Island, West Virginia, and, indeed, every State throughout the Nation. Last year, over 330 Rhode Islanders lost their lives due to opioids. Rhode Island is a small State, so let me talk about a national statistic that shows the extent of this crisis. Last year, drug overdoses killed 50,000 Americans. That means more people died last year because of drug overdoses than due to car crashes or gun violence. These numbers are staggering, and it is happening in all of our communities. Since 2011, the number of overdose deaths has increased by more than 90 percent. Unfortunately, year after year, Rhode Island continues to top the Nation in terms of rates of overdose deaths. We must work to turn this around and get more people access to treatment for opioid addiction. In 2008, almost a decade ago, Congress enacted the landmark Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Law. For the first time, the law required insurance companies to cover behavioral health services in the same way that it would cover physical health services.…”