Nation's Opioid Epidemic

Floor Speech

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Ms. PINGREE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues very much for organizing this Special Order and for the bipartisan approach to dealing with such a challenging issue.

I would like to rise today to share some of the stories, as my colleagues have, about my constituents whose lives have been impacted by addiction.

We are now so well aware that addiction to prescription opioids is on the rise nationwide. In my home State of Maine, that trend has also been accompanied by a drastic increase in the use of heroin and other illicit drugs. Sadly, now heroin and other drugs provide a cheaper, more readily available alternative to diverted prescription medicines. The unpredictable formulations of these drugs, which can vary drastically in toxicity, have made Maine's epidemic of addiction particularly deadly.

In cities, small towns, and rural areas across the State, people are dying each week. Everyone knows someone--a family member, a friend, a neighbor--who has overdosed. No one is immune. People from every background, income level, and generation are at risk.

One of the individuals we have tragically lost was a brother of a staff member of mine. His name was David McCarthy, and his struggle with addiction was captured in a feature this summer in The Washington Post, entitled, ``And Then He Decided Not to Be.'' David, who had been sober for several months, relapsed on the evening before he left home to return to his winter job at a ski resort.

His family came forward to speak openly and honestly about his death because they believe, as I do, that removing the stigma and silence around addiction is an essential part of treating it as the serious illness that it is.

One of the most poignant aspects of this family's experience is that the day after David's death, his brother Michael overdosed on the same batch of heroin. In Michael's case, however, he was found while he was still alive, and the same paramedics who responded to David's death happened to have a physician with them who administered an overdose reversal drug to revive him, so he survived. With his family's support, he has now entered a long-term treatment program. Access to those resources, like readily available Narcan and quality treatment opportunities, quite literally saves lives.

I am deeply frustrated and disappointed that my colleagues here in Congress have been unable to come together to provide funding to address this epidemic. I am very glad to see the House working on legislation this week related to opioid abuse, but the reality is, without funds appropriated to support the new programs created, many of these bills are nothing more than political rhetoric.

I am afraid that some lawmakers would prefer to have people suffering from addiction continue to turn to our already overburdened emergency rooms for care, to continue asking them to enter treatment, only to be turned away because they can't pay, or asking those people who are addicted to continue struggling to recover while also dealing with homelessness, food insecurity, and a range of other challenges. That is just unacceptable.

Every victim of this epidemic represents an incredible loss, not only to the people who love them, but to all of us, in the form of missed potential.

This summer I had the pleasure of meeting Chris Poulos, a University of Maine law graduate who was working to get his security clearance for a fellowship at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. The process was especially difficult for him because he is a convicted felon who was arrested for drug possession during a period of addiction to opioids and other drugs; but now Chris is devoting his considerable talent and intellect to helping others--not despite, but because of his own recovery. The State of Maine and our country are better off because he could access treatment when he needed it.

Our constituents need treatment, and they need it now. States can't face the epidemic alone, and they shouldn't have to. The difference Federal funding can make became clear to me recently when I visited Crossroads, a recovery center in my district. Through a Federal grant, they established a treatment program for pregnant and parenting women which allows them to remain unified with their children while working on their recovery.

One participant, Helen, came to the program while pregnant with her fourth child. The caring staff at Crossroads worked with her to ensure that she was able to bond with her baby after his birth and help facilitate her transition to a long-term sober housing program. I am proud that Federal funding played a part in her recovery. I firmly believe that helping Helen to get clean is a great investment in her, in her children, and in our society.

During my visit to Crossroads, though, I heard about the many people who struggle to access affordable treatment or find themselves left without any support when they have completed it. They, too, need us urgently.

Congress needs to come together and appropriate emergency funds to combat the epidemic of opioid abuse in our country. Clearly, it is a matter of life and death.

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