[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 18, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E729]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            COMPREHENSIVE OPIOID ABUSE REDUCTION ACT OF 2016

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. BILL PASCRELL, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 12, 2016

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5046) to 
     amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
     to authorize the Attorney General to make grants to assist 
     State and local governments in addressing the national 
     epidemic of opioid abuse, and for other purposes:

  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 5046, the 
Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act.
  Addiction affects people from all walks of life. It is not confined 
to people of certain races, classes, and ages. Its broad reach is 
perhaps what makes it so terrifying.
  Prescription drug abuse and alarming increases in heroin abuse have 
gripped our country and it is past time for it to grip the attention of 
the Congress.
  I was proud to vote for many great bills this week to improve the 
prevention and treatment of substance abuse, particularly opioid abuse.
  While all of these bills, including the one before us today, address 
many aspects of this complex issue, we need to be honest and admit that 
in order to truly address this problem, we have to invest funding in 
it.
  There are already many programs in place that are successful in 
preventing and treating substance abuse, but they are underfunded. We 
need to change that.
  As we embark on the Fiscal Year 2017 appropriations process, I urge 
my colleagues to keep this mind.
  Substance abuse destroys families, friendships, our communities, and 
virtually everything else in its path. The time to act is now.

                          ____________________