Political Quotes

“I thank the chairwoman for yielding and for her leadership on the very fine bills we have before the House here this afternoon. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 3153, the bipartisan EFFORT Act, which would expand Federal research on opioid addiction. Since 2011, more than 200 people in the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia have lost their lives due to an opioid overdose. Some of the highest numbers of children being born in Virginia with neonatal abstinence syndrome have been from my district. But these numbers don't tell the heartbreaking devastation the opioid crisis has wrought for families who have lost their mother, their father, their brother, their sister, or their child. Meanwhile, our law enforcement officers and first responders are struggling with the trauma and burnout that comes from being on the front lines of so many tragic and needless deaths of their friends and neighbors. Tens of thousands of Americans and more than 1,000 Virginians are dying every year from overdoses. Addiction is an illness, and fighting the crisis effectively requires adequate research and funding. The EFFORT Act will help to do this by directing the National Science Foundation to support research on the science of opioid addiction.…”