[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 80 (Thursday, May 19, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H2869]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
     COMMENDING COMMUNITIES BATTLING THE OPIOID AND HEROIN EPIDEMIC

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend 
several communities in Pennsylvania's Fifth Congressional District that 
are taking a stand in the battle against our Nation's opioid abuse and 
heroin epidemic.
  Last evening I chaired a hearing here on Capitol Hill on this 
epidemic, and just this morning I learned of two townhall meetings, one 
held last night in Titusville in Crawford County and the other held 
Tuesday evening in Ridgway in Elk County.
  These communities, like countless others across Pennsylvania and our 
Nation, have witnessed firsthand the tragic impact of this epidemic. 
Elk County is ranked ninth in Pennsylvania in overdose deaths per 
population of 100,000 people, while Crawford County has seen its 
overdose deaths double in the past 4 years.
  I am proud to see these communities come together to see what can be 
done to help turn the tide against the scourge of prescription drug 
abuse and heroin use.
  I am also proud of the package passed last week--18 bills--here in 
the House which will make grant funding available to State and local 
governments for the creation of opioid reduction programs, create a 
task force to review prescribing practices, and care for babies who are 
born opioid dependent.
  In the future, I look forward to further partnerships with Federal, 
State, and local officials, along with these communities, in winning 
this battle.

                          ____________________