Political Quotes

“the American people sent all of us here to solve problems, to strengthen and support our Nation and its people, and to help make ours a more perfect union. They expect us to govern responsibly and to work together to improve our communities. This week we are considering the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, or CARA. Few problems in our country have had as devastating an impact on American families as opioid addiction. From Vermont, to Kentucky, to Ohio, communities across the country are struggling, and they are reaching for answers and for help. It is clear there is a strong, bipartisan interest in Congress to address the problems associated with opioid addiction. The legislation before us is a good bill. It demonstrates that Congress now sees addiction for what it is--a public health crisis. But CARA will not by itself pull our communities out of addiction. CARA is an unfunded framework. Addiction is too knotted and massive a challenge to address with a mere change in philosophy. We cannot pretend that solving a problem as large as opioid addiction costs nothing. The emergency funding amendment by Senator Shaheen is an essential part of this effort. It puts real dollars behind the rhetoric to ensure that the carefully crafted programs authorized in CARA can actually be implemented and can succeed. Congress has approved much larger emergency funding bills in the past.…”