[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 75 (Thursday, May 12, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H2319]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            OPIOID ADDICTION

  (Ms. McSALLY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. McSALLY. Mr. Speaker, opioid addiction is an epidemic that is 
tearing our communities apart. This devastation is acutely felt by 
families in southern Arizona, many of whom know all too well the pain 
of losing a loved one to an overdose. Nobody, no family, is immune.
  A recent analysis showed that Pima County, which I represent, has an 
overdose rate twice as high as any other county in Arizona, which had 
the 10th highest rate in the Arizona.
  Southern Arizona's close proximity to the border exacerbates this 
problem, as more and more opioids come flowing into our communities. 
Reports show that, between 2010 and 2015, heroin seizures spiked by 
more than 300 percent. Too many lives have been ruined by the tragic 
consequences of opioid abuse, which is why we must act.
  This week the House is voting on 18 bills that take steps such as 
launching medication and treatment intervention programs, expanding 
resources to evidence-based incarceration alternatives, and increasing 
the availability of lifesaving overdose reversal drugs.
  These are many important first steps to stopping the rise of opioid 
addiction, and I pledge to continue working to address this very grave 
and urgent issue.

                          ____________________