Prescription Drug Abuse

Floor Speech

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, prescription drug abuse is killing more people in this country than car wrecks. It's hard to believe, but it sneaked up on us.

In my district 10 years ago, we started an organization called UNITE, Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment and Education, a holistic approach, and it works. We've put in jail about 4,000 pushers. We've got drug counselors in schools. We've got clubs in schools to entertain young people on nice things to do and the like, drug courts in every county. It works, but the problem persists.

Last week, I had the great honor and pleasure of helping host in Orlando, Florida, a drug summit on prescription drug abuse, almost a thousand people from 49 States and several foreign countries focusing on the problem. It's the second year we've done that, the second straight year. Mayor Bloomberg was there. The head of CDC was there, the head of FDA, heads of all sorts of Federal organizations, and we're determined to help wipe out this big killer in this country.

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