Assisting States' Implementation of Plans of Safe Care Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Virginia for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, across the country, communities are struggling to bear the heavy burden of the worsening trend to opioid addiction. At the Committee on Education and the Workforce, we like the idea of evidence- based policymaking. We like to see numbers and statistics. We have to remember, though, that these are never just numbers; they are real people in our own communities.

We have held hearings, spoken with experts, brainstormed solutions, and drafted bills. It has become abundantly clear to me that, for every person living with an opioid addiction, there are countless others who also have a steep price to pay. Few things are more devastating than witnessing a neighbor, a friend, a coworker, or a loved one fall prey to addiction and feeling powerless to stop it.

I want to thank and commend members of the Committee on Education and the Workforce for leaving no stone unturned as we work to make healing possible to all victims of this scourge of addiction, not only those who are struggling with opioid abuse.

Too many people, especially children, have been impacted by this scourge. Today's bills are designed to bring relief to those who are affected by the addiction while addressing the needs of children and families who have been left in this tragedy's wake.

According to many experts, the worst of the opioid addiction is still to come. If we are to bring this senseless tragedy to an end, we need to do all we can to ensure that the law addresses the needs of families, workplaces, and communities at large. I believe the bills the House is voting on today will do just that, and again, I commend the members of the Education and the Workforce Committee for all their hard work.

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