Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5228, the Stop Counterfeit Drugs by Regulating and Enhancing Enforcement Now Act, or the SCREEN Act. Mr. Speaker, one way the nation can express its concern for our citizens' health is by addressing the issue regarding counterfeit drugs and synthetic opioids. Among other things, H.R. 5228 will strengthen the ability of the Food and Drug Administration to combat counterfeit drugs, illegal and synthetic opioids, and opioid-like substances. Because the capabilities of counterfeit drugs and opioids are rapidly and continuously evolving, there is no ``single'' technology that provides long-term assurance of drug security. H.R. 5228 will implement new, holistic technology to better protect our drug supply. Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin. All opioids are chemically related and interact with opioid receptors on nerve cells in the body and brain. According to a recent study, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report there were 63,632 drug overdose deaths in 2016 in America, 42,249 of which were related to opioid overdoses. This issue directly affects my state of Texas, because in 2016, there were 1,375 opioid-related overdose deaths, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In the city of Houston alone, there were 364 drug-related overdose deaths. Another issue that H.R.…”