Heroin and Opioid Overdoses

Floor Speech

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Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, the chart that is being set up next to me here depicts graphically one of the most sickening trends in terms of an increasing cause of death in the United States, which is heroin and opioid overdoses.

On the top, the map shows data from 2004 from the Centers for Disease Control, when 7,500 Americans lost their lives to overdose deaths. In 2014, that number has grown to 27,000.

The red shaded area is high-intensity areas of death of up to 20 per 100,000 in the population. The blue is 10 or less. And in 2014, as you can see, the red is slowly but inexorably taking over the entire country.

This is a crisis which, again, affects every part of our country, whether it is rural, suburban, or urban. It affects Republican districts. It affects Democratic districts. And it is time for our Nation to recognize that this needs to be treated the same way we would any natural disaster or public health emergency in the country.

In 2016, we know these numbers are, in fact, going to get worse.

The Office of Chief Medical Examiner in the State of Connecticut released their 2015 numbers a few weeks ago, and the number grew in the State of Connecticut by 20 percent, to 723 deaths in 2015.

Just this morning in the local press in southeastern Connecticut, a 25-year-old was found dead in a motor vehicle on Route 12 outside the Groton Navy Base, and a young man, an 18-year-old, was found dead in Norwich just a couple of days ago.

It is time for us to listen to the folks who are on the front lines-- the police officers, the addiction counselors, and the folks that are dealing with this program bringing people to life with Narcan--and understand that we need a new approach to solving this incredibly dangerous crisis for our Nation.

The good news is that the Senate, a couple of weeks ago, passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act 94-1. It is a good bill. It makes some smart changes in terms of the overprescribing of painkillers. It deals with the disposal of the proliferation of painkillers that is far too great in the Nation today. It also talks about changing protocols in the FDA, HHS, DOD, VA, all of the agencies of the Federal Government that deal with folks suffering from pain. Unfortunately, though, the bill does not contain a single penny of emergency assistance which the police departments across the country, the addiction counselors across the country are begging for.

In the House, there is a bill, H.R. 4473, which does provide emergency supplemental appropriations this year to try and get resources so that folks who are dealing with this crisis and families that are dealing with this crisis are actually going to get real help. And this bill has been endorsed by 21 organizations, from the Fraternal Order of Police, the police and the cops and the firefighters who are out there saving people's lives right now with Narcan, and also the addiction counselors who, again, do not have adequate detox facilities and beds to deal with the carnage that is happening all across this country.

The Republican majority leader announced last week that in May, the House will take up the Senate bill. I wish it was this month. I wish we could move with the urgency of a natural disaster like a fire or hurricane or tornado striking parts of our country that causes devastation much less than what these maps depict. However, the fact that there is going to be some movement is some sign of hope.

But it is important to remember it is not enough to just pass authorizing language that is about trying to change policy without funding, because the folks who are dealing with this problem, who are watching us like a hawk because they are dealing with this problem, like that young man who was found dead last night, understand that resources are needed, just like in any other natural disaster or public health emergency facing this country.

Again, we need to turn this map around. We need to change this so that, again, the devastation that is being caused in families of middle class, upper class, lower income families across the country is going to stop.

There are real-life solutions that the folks who are at the front lines are prepared to move forward. They are on standby. What they are waiting for is this Congress to move forward with the real resources that we would deal with as a great Nation in terms of any other epidemic or any other massive public health or health emergency in this Nation.

We need to include H.R. 4473. We need to listen to the 21 organizations that deal with this problem all across America so that we get real help out on the streets of America and not just give lip service to solving this critical problem.

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